


Cats in Gloves Catch No Mice

by itdamyeons



Category: NU'EST
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, jren with side baekmin!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-05-27 01:06:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15013367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itdamyeons/pseuds/itdamyeons
Summary: When Minki arrives at the street where he usually tries to play with the stray cats, the sun has almost set completely.A boy, around his age, squats silently near a lamppost, watching the cats. He’s dressed like it’s November instead of July, complete with a hooded sweatshirt instead of a t-shirt and jeans instead of shorts. Weird.{An AU where Minki and Jonghyun share a bond that starts from their mutual appreciation for a bunch of stray cats, and gradually builds into a budding relationship.}





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Huh?? Are you saying that I've already written a fic where jren play with a stray cat? I don't know what you mean.
> 
> The fic title comes from an expression that says that sometimes being too careful can hinder you from getting what you really want. I just... really wanted to use a cat pun.
> 
> I've written out maybe 4 chapters out of the 6 that I have planned for this fic, so you can expect those to be up as soon as I'm done editing them. Let me know if you spot any typos!

It’s a good day in Seoul. The sun is shining, birds are chirping—all that jazz. Summer has been in full swing for a while, and you don’t really need to look further than outside your own window to see people of all ages enjoying themselves. It’s just one of those days in general.

On this aforementioned sunny day, Minki’s apartment looks almost as sad as his roommate does.

Minki doesn’t really consider himself a very _messy_ person. He always tries his best to decorate the apartment neatly to make it look nice, his wardrobe is color coded and arranged super meticulously, and he keeps the products on the bathroom sink pretty damn organized.

Minhyun, on the other hand, _definitely_ considers Minki to be a very messy person, and it’s usually only when Minhyun hits some sort of a slump and stops cleaning up his own side as well as whatever Minki doesn’t do, that Minki concedes that yes, okay, maybe he _is_ a little messy with certain things without realizing it.

As of right now, a pile of dishes lie unwashed in the sink, a couple of empty potato chip packets grace the corner of the living room couch, and there’s random stationery littered across the floor. Nevertheless, that’s where Minki’s been hanging out for the last two days, because he really hasn’t been feeling like cleaning up the mountain of laundry that is his own room. Normally, Minhyun nags him constantly (and Minki waits for him to give up and clean it himself) but Sad Minhyun doesn’t enjoy cleaning up the apartment nearly as much as Normal Minhyun does.

Which is fair. Inconvenient, but fair.

 

It’s not like Minhyun hasn’t _talked_ about it with Minki—not that there was a need; Minki had been present when the event took place—it’s just that the matter is so trivial it could easily be solved, but neither of the two unnecessarily headstrong people directly involved wants to make the first move and apologize.

Tiny tiffs like this happen often enough between the two of them that Minki’s pretty much grown used to it. It doesn’t surprise him anymore when Minhyun and Dongho start squabbling like an old married couple. They’ve known each other for a lot longer than Minki’s known Minhyun, and have been together as a couple for only a little shorter than that, so he just assumes that it’s one of those things that happen when you’ve been with someone for that long.

What _does_ surprise him is when, after lunch, Minhyun proudly reveals a bottle of soju he’d gone and bought that very morning.

Despite his enthusiasm showing off the bottle to Minki, the thinly veiled dread with which he places their shot glasses down onto their kitchen counter is almost cute.

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Minki offers, “You aren’t fooling anyone. Especially not yourself.”

Minhyun doesn’t look back at Minki. He’s frowning, but he does look determined, if nothing else.

“Look, we’re all adults here,” he says, sitting down and picking up his glass again, “you’re the one who said day before yesterday that this might distract me for a while, so now you’ve got to follow through with me.”

“Minhyun, you _hate_ alcohol.”

“Yeah, well, I hate feeling like this more!”

 

Minki knows how to deal with a stubborn Minhyun by now, but it’s been a long couple of days for the both of them. A drink wouldn’t hurt, and he’s sure Minhyun will bail in a few minutes anyway. He rolls his eyes and clinks their glasses together, “Cheers to you for refusing to apologize to the love of your life for something that’s your fault.”

“Cheers to you for-” Minhyun starts, grimacing, but doesn’t come up with a counter. “Just drink with me, Minki. Please. Just for today,” is what he settles with. He doesn’t correct Minki about referring to Dongho as the love of his life.

Yikes. Minki isn’t sure he likes seeing genuine regret in Minhyun.

“I’m doing this only because I’m getting a drink for free,” he sighs, taking on a condescending tone, “I don’t actually support people drinking away their sorrows, it ends up in alcoholism.”

Minki isn’t entirely kidding, but Minhyun knows he’s just trying to get under his skin.

“Whatever floats your boat,” Minhyun smiles, the first time today (save for when he was showing off his bottle), and Minki ends up smiling back.

 

“I wanted to get vodka since it’s stronger, but I ended up just getting soju,” Minhyun says, warily bringing his glass closer to his face.

“Let’s stick to soju,” Minki agrees, “I’m here for you but I really don’t feel like cleaning puke off of the floor today.”

Minhyun scoffs. “I wouldn’t puke. It’s just that I don’t want to risk it.”

They count to three and shoot. The soju is a little harsher than what Minki’s used to. It’s probably by coincidence (or the lack of sufficient funds), but Minhyun seems to have bought a really cheap brand. That’s essentially a good thing if he really wants to get drunk. Minki winces, but swallows swiftly.

To say that Minhyun’s face scrunches up in disgust would be an understatement. He gags immediately after swallowing the liquid and reaches out frantically for the bottle of water next to him. Minki smiles almost smugly. “What did I tell you?”

Minhyun’s too tuckered out to respond, so he pushes the soju bottle towards Minki.

“Fuck, I’m never touching that ever again,” he groans, and heads towards his room, “You can have it. I think I’ll just go to bed.”

It’s only around 6 in the evening—a _little_ early considering Minhyun’s usual 11pm bedtime— but Minki decides it’s probably best to let him be. He picks up the bottle and puts it away in one of their kitchen shelves. It’s no fun drinking alone.

 

There’s still some daylight outside, so Minki decides to take a walk to his favourite convenience store to get the two of them some dinner.

The store isn’t exactly very close to them— it’s about twenty minutes by subway, but today Minki feels like taking a walk.

He’s been sticking around in the apartment the last few days in case Minhyun needed anything, so a little me-time would not be uncalled for.

It takes him about an hour to get there, but the feeling of entering the spacious, air-conditioned store welcomes him. It’s relaxing seeing the cute cartoon animal mascots on plastic food packaging as he walks past a few aisles.

Minki eventually picks out some ramyun and baked eggs for their meal, along with a new tube of toothpaste. He also stops by the petfood section to pick up a packet of Friskies while he’s at it. He’s already come all this way; he might as well visit the neighbourhood cats on his way back.

 

\----

 

When Minki arrives at the street where he usually tries to play with the stray cats, the sun has almost set completely.

One cat seems to be lounging on the sidewalk. She has with her an entire litter of kittens. She must have given birth not too long ago. It’s been a while since Minki’s come to visit them.

There’s someone else there too.

A boy, around Minki’s age, squats silently near a lamppost, watching the cats. He’s dressed like it’s November instead of July, complete with a hooded sweatshirt instead of a t-shirt and jeans instead of shorts. Weird.

He doesn’t notice that there’s someone watching him until the mother cat recognizes Minki and hastily gets up to walk towards him, knowing he’s brought her food.

The stranger then politely bows his head with a smile, and Minki bows back.

Minki kneels down and brings out the packet of cat food he’s brought along, and the cat watches his hands work at tearing the packet open. A couple of the kittens approach him nervously, but they don’t look like they’re old enough to have anything other than milk yet. A couple of other cats from around the area also notice the commotion and run towards the food Minki’s laid down for them.

The other boy hasn’t said anything yet, but he shows no signs of leaving, so Minki makes an attempt at small talk.

“My roommate and I get them food sometimes. It’s usually leftovers or milk—you’ve got to be careful with what you give them as leftovers, of course— but I was at a store today so I got them something a little better.”

“Ah,” says the boy, and his tone is vague. He pauses, and then admits somewhat sheepishly, “I tried petting the grey one over there, but it hissed at me the second I got close to it, so I decided I’d just watch.”

His voice is strange. Raspy comes closest to describing it.

“Yeah, they’re not always very friendly. Honestly the only reason they come to me is because they know I get them food. They usually run away right afterwards though,” he strokes the head of the mother cat who takes a break from eating to nudge against his legs, “except for this one. This one’s  okay with me,” he looks up at the other boy, “I hope,” he adds with a smile.

“I didn’t try touching that one since cats with kittens tend to be pretty defensive,” Hoodie Boy sighs and scoots closer to the cats ever so slightly, clearly still dying to pet them. “I haven’t been here for long enough for them to know me, I guess. Someday, though.”

“You like cats, huh?” Minki states more than asks, and takes a better look at the boy now that he’s closer. His bangs— dark, like his eyes— reach down past his eyebrows. There’s a tiny mole next to his right ear. The cartoon character on his hoodie looks a little familiar, but Minki can’t put a finger on it.

“I love cats,” Hoodie Boy says, eyes still on the street cats devouring whatever is left of the food, “but the love isn’t exactly mutual.”

“Mutual love isn’t all it takes sometimes,” Minki mumbles, more to himself than anything, the events of two days ago flashing through his mind. Ah, if only Minhyun and Dongho weren’t half as stubborn as they are. Having to be the middleman is the worst. Minki knows how much they love each other and refuses to take sides, and he knows that they’ll make up in no time at all, just like always, but it’s still draining. On all of them. Their bickering came with time, maybe it’ll go away eventually with time, or mayb—

 

“Bad breakup?”

The voice comes from Minki’s left. Oops, he’d forgotten momentarily that this guy was still next to him.

He looks up when Minki takes a second to reply, and there’s some trepidation to his expression-- clearly trying to figure out what their boundaries are as strangers. He does look genuinely concerned though, so Minki gives him a gist.

“Uh, yeah, but not me. My roommate—I mentioned him just a while back, right?—just broke up with his boyfriend for the umpteenth time. Well, it’s more a small argument than an actual _breakup_ , but you know how things can be.”

The boy nods pretty compassionately, but doesn’t respond. Maybe he’s giving Minki privacy; maybe he’s got his own bad breakup he doesn’t want to think or talk about. It’s better not to pry. The silence feels uncomfortable, so Minki decides to take a different route.

“Do you have any pets?”

If Hoodie Boy is relieved at the change of topic, he doesn’t show it.

“Nah, I don’t, though I’ve always wanted one. I used to live with my family till just a while ago; my parents always insisted that and among my sisters and me, they’ve got enough animals to handle,” Hoodie Boy chuckles. It’s an odd laugh, but Minki finds himself laughing alongside him.

“My parents used to tell me and my brother the exact same thing and even though neither of us have pets, we’ve both ended up feeding street animals instead,” Minki says, “I did have a chick once though!”

“A chick? Like a baby hen?”

“Like a baby hen. Named it Kongsun.”

“Amazing, there are people in this city raising chicks, and I had to settle with playing a hand-me-down cartridge of Nintendogs,” Hoodie Boy grins, and crap, it sure is a sight for sore eyes.

“Ah, Nintendogs,” Minki sighs, “My friend—ah, he’s actually also the boyfriend of my roommate, since I mentioned them before—he used to play that a bunch when we were younger. He’s a true blue dog person. He had a dog himself too. Wow.”

“…Wow?” Hoodie Boy looks confused.

“The dog’s name was Wow.”

“Wow,” he says.

“Wow,” Minki echoes, and they both start laughing, loud enough together to make the street cats around them flinch.

Something inside Minki’s head says that this entire exchange sounds like a joke only a bunch of elementary schoolers would find even slightly humorous, but here they are.

All of a sudden, Poker Face starts blasting from Minki’s front pocket, and he and Hoodie Boy hastily control their laughter as he picks it up.

A groggy sounding Minhyun asks him where he is from the other line.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Minki tells him, “I’m with the cats. I got us dinner too.”

“Okay,” Minhyun replies, short and curt, and hangs up afterwards.

Minki puts his phone back into his pocket and reaches out for his grocery bag. From the corner of his eyes he notices one of the kittens inching its way towards Hoodie Boy. He smiles. Hoodie Boy is now almost completely engrossed in trying to not scare away this kitten as it walks towards him, but he offers Minki a goodbye.

“Take care. And I hope your roommate sorts things out with his boyfriend,” he smiles.

“You take care too,” Minki waves, and begins walking towards his street.

He’s already walked a few meters when he realizes.

“Hey!” he turns back and shouts so that Hoodie Boy hears him.

The long sleeved figure he’s shouting at looks up.

“I didn’t catch your name!”

Hoodie Boy stands up, and Minki can vaguely see the kitten that was with him run away somewhere.

“I’m Jonghyun!” he shouts back, “Kim Jonghyun! Nice to meet you!”

Minki laughs at the absurdity of the sudden politeness again, but maybe Jonghyun doesn’t hear him.

“Back at you! My name’s Choi Minki! See you around someday, Jonghyun!”

He can see Jonghyun waving as he walks backwards for a bit. He’s at too far a distance to make out his facial expression, but he wonders if Jonghyun is smiling.

Minki shrugs to himself, and starts walking back.

 

The cats probably won’t mind if he gets them some more food soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dejavu just released.... It's so good i'm LOSING IT... let's all do our best to stream!  
> Thanks to anyone who's taking the time to read this! Reading through your comments really helps me feel like it isn't just me shouting jren into a void.
> 
> In other news, Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, as Minki's about to slowly find out.

 

 

Talking on the phone, Minki hadn’t _meant_ to be loud enough to wake up Minhyun— who’d been sleeping in the other room—but it was probably for the better.

“Wear your shoes and grab your wallet,” Minki says, when Minhyun asks him who was on the other line. “We’re going out for breakfast.”

The café Minki leads Minhyun to is one they’ve been to before. The price range is reasonable, especially for food that tastes at least above average for sure. The owner even has a cute little Labrador pup who sometimes hangs around near the café entrance, but it’s not necessarily where Minki would personally choose to go eat _breakfast_ at. It’s more of a quaint little lunch place, with little blue and white curtains on the windows that look the best when the afternoon sun is filtering through them. None of that really matters today, of course, since Minki’s motives behind bringing Minhyun here have very little to do with having a nice meal.

It’s been a week since the fight, and that’s seven days longer than Minki can put up with.

When they enter and their line of view meets Dongho’s, surprise, confusion, and irritation— in that order— simultaneously colour the features of both the boy next to Minki, as well as the one they’re looking at.

Minhyun doesn’t walk out, though, and that’s as good a start as they’re going to get.

Minki pulls up a chair for him to the table Dongho’s sitting at—a table that’s technically meant for two people, taking into account that Dongho had no clue Minhyun would be tagging along. Minhyun begrudgingly sits down, arms folded, and Dongho rolls his eyes. They both turn to Minki.

“This isn’t what you told me we were coming for.”

“This isn’t what I’d meant when I’d called to ask if _you_ were free for breakfast.”

 

Minki doesn’t consider himself _exceptionally_ mature as a person, but considering he’s the youngest among them, he’d really appreciate it if the other two would stop being such absolute babies for a change.

“Can we at least get something to eat before you guys start grilling me?” Minki reasons, and is pleased when Minhyun and Dongho reluctantly mumble their agreement.

They order a sandwich each. Dongho and Minki get coffees, and Minhyun gets tea.

It doesn’t take too long for their orders to be served, but the resolute silence that surrounds their table as they eat gradually gets on Minki’s nerves. “Is there anything either of you have to say to each other.”

Minhyun pouts. Dongho pretends to look away.

“You should tell Minhyun that if someone asks him not to do something, _maybe_ he shouldn’t,” he finally says.

Minhyun’s replies without wasting a breath. “Yeah, Minki, _maybe_. _Maybe_ if Dongho got a taste of his own antics sometime, he wouldn’t take some matters more seriously than he needs to.”

Dongho frowns. “Minki, tell Minhyun that when someone has only one cola left, and hardly any remaining allowance, _and_ is willing to split it in half if he needs to, maybe it shouldn’t disappear from his fridge completely,” but he and Minhyun are past even looking at Minki.

They stare at each other, but there’s only just enough anger in their glares to mask how all they’re actually doing is trying to get the other to apologise first. It’s a question of pride, not animosity. Minki wants to reprimand them, but there’s also a side of him that can’t help finding this situation kind of funny, like they know that they’re going to leave today having reconciled, but they’re doing it to be petty anyway.

He doesn’t dignify their conversation with a response, choosing to admire the texture of the bread in his sandwich instead.

It’s unbelievable that all of this happened because of a single can of cola.

The three of them had offered to help a relative of Dongho’s move some furniture into a different flat. In order to get it done in time, they’d woken up before the sun had even risen— a lot earlier than they were used to. That, in addition to missing a meal in favour of getting the job done quicker, had made them all a little grouchier than normal.

After retiring to Dongho’s apartment, Minhyun had decided to go into the kitchen to quench his thirst and had grabbed a cola—the last remaining cola that Dongho had specifically mentioned that he’d been saving for himself—and had emptied its contents in a few gulps.

It wasn’t really a big deal, and Minhyun had probably actually forgotten, but the crankiness from exhaustion must have gotten to them.

 

They’re almost done eating by the time Dongho finally gives in.

“Treat me to some more cola sometime,” he says, addressing Minhyun directly.

“Fine,” Minhyun agrees almost too quickly, though his expression remains aloof.

 

Nobody says a word for a while, but it’s easy to tell that the worst is over.

Minhyun eventually gets off his chair, and both Minki and Dongho with some apprehension watch him walk away.

He stops at the dessert counter and comes back five minutes later with a slice of cake.

“Here,” he says, cutting it in half and placing a piece on the plate in front of him, “since I won’t be able to finish it. I’m dieting.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have bought it then.”

And it’s here that their stoicism ends—when they can’t look each other in the eye without threatening to burst into laughter. “Stupid,” Dongho says, and Minhyun pretends to roll his eyes, but the smiles that they try to hide speak a lot louder.

“Okay you guys, way to go at making me feel like a third wheel,” Minki pipes in, feigning hurt.

The customers at the table next to them look over briefly when they hear Minhyun and Dongho crack up. Their laughter has always sounded very different from each other’s, but both always so unnecessarily loud. Minhyun puts an arm around Minki and nuzzles the side of his head. Minki huffs in exasperation, but feels content after getting quarter of a slice each from his friends.

 

\----

 

The same day, the three of them go to the nearby alleyway to play with the cats.

Minhyun and Dongho are both dog people more than they are cat people, especially Dongho, but they tag along anyway. They say it’s so that Minki doesn’t have to go alone, which might actually hold _some_ truth, but Minki’s just relieved that they’re back to being the dweebs that they normally are.

Minhyun has his arms around both of them, the one around Minki holding a small carton of milk. A breeze blows against their foreheads, but the night sky is clear when they reach.

 It’s only the three of them in the light of the lampposts, but it isn’t like Minki consciously pays attention to this.

After all, why would he? He doesn’t have enough reason to hope someone else would be there.

 

\----

 

It’s been a few years since Minki moved to Seoul.

Staying in Busan after high school wouldn’t have been a _bad_ idea— it still is the second largest city in South Korea— but moving out had definitely been for the better. Plus, when he’d learnt that his two closest friends were moving to Seoul to pursue their education, he figured, why shouldn’t he?

He could have stayed in Busan, with its bustling ports and beautiful beaches; but the relatively globalised culture and fashion of Seoul, along with its vibrant streetlife all grew on Minki pretty easily.

While he _could_ still be strolling across the side of the Nakdong River in Busan that he’s grown up with, the Han River is nowhere near the ugliest river he’s seen.

So yes, it’s been a few years since Minki moved to Seoul, and he’d like to think that he’s grown a lot since he’s left home. However, when on Minki’s fourth visit that month to the alley with the cats he sees Jonghyun there, he has to try his hardest not to feel his heart skip a beat like he really hasn’t grown past fifteen.

Jonghyun notices him before the cats do this time.

“Hey,” he says, his face friendly, “we meet again!”

“Nice to see the cats have another playmate,” Minki grins, sitting down maybe a foot away from Jonghyun. There’s only two kittens visible today, and one carefully walks over to Minki and makes itself comfortable between the ground and his leg. Her mother and the other cats don’t seem to be in their immediate vicinity.

“Any luck with getting them to come closer to you?”

Jonghyun shakes his head dejectedly. “I’ve been getting them food sometimes too, but that’s all they give any attention to.”

So he _has_ been visiting the cats, at least occasionally. That means Minki really has been just missing him coincidentally. Not that Minki consciously makes any note of this either.

He gently nudges the kitten upwards so that it climbs onto his lap. A quick glance towards Jonghyun almost makes him giggle. The slight envy with which Jonghyun’s eyebrows furrow as he stares longingly at the kitten is delicate, but definitely present.

“Do you want to try?” Minki offers, and Jonghyun lifts his head to bring his eyes— practically glittering with hope— to Minki’s.

Minki slowly shuffles closer to Jonghyun with the cat in his lap, and cautiously shifts his position so that he’s sitting on his knees. He gestures for Jonghyun to do the same.

“I’ll try to push her onto you bit by bit,” he explains, lining his left leg against Jonghyun’s right. “Try not to move too much.”

Jonghyun nods rapidly in agreement, his eyes back on the kitten.

 

It should have worked, in theory. But Minki hadn’t accounted for a situation where after being nudged halfway, into the dip where his leg and Jonghyun’s meet, the kitten would dig its tiny (but worrisome) claws through Jonghyun’s jeans, and refuse to move.

Of course, that’s exactly what ends up happening.

“Uh,” Minki lets out, suddenly feeling Extremely Distracted by the warmth of Jonghyun’s leg against his.

Jonghyun doesn’t move away, nor does he look at Minki. He slowly brings his hand over to the kitten's head, and begins to pet it.

If Minki moves, the kitten falls and potentially scratches Jonghyun, or Minki, or both of them. However, if Minki _doesn’t_ move, he has to deal with how his sense of hearing has abruptly become hypersensitive to the boy breathing next to him, and Minki feels like he needs to consciously regulate his own breathing.

He wonders briefly if people can feel heartbeats if their legs are touching. His feels like his is about to break past his ribcage. He can’t feel anything from Jonghyun’s side, though, so that’s probably a good sign.

This goes on for about maybe only two actual minutes until the kitten gets bored and runs away, but Minki feels as though he could have finished watching Lady Gaga’s entire Super Bowl performance within that time.

“Oh,” Jonghyun sighs, too softly and too loudly at the same time, as both the kittens disappear behind a pair of trashcans.

Minki quickly moves so that they aren’t in direct contact anymore. He lets out a breath he didn’t notice he’d been holding.

“Maybe next time she’ll climb onto you properly,” he tries, pleased that he’s being able to _think_ again.

“It’s better for them to take their time. And this was… better than nothing,” Jonghyun says, but his tone is unreadable.

They shift into a silence that is more comfortable, if only marginally.

The breeze that had been blowing the last few days seems to have disappeared, and that is what Minki blames when he wipes the sweat off of his forehead. With his bearings gathered, he lets himself check on Jonghyun, who’s tilting his head this way and that to see if he can still spot the kittens.

His bangs are parted slightly, like the wind had been going at it earlier before it stopped blowing. The look suits him; it shows off his forehead and eyebrows. He actually has some pretty features. Nice cheekbones, kind-looking eyes, a jawline that looks like it would fit right onto the cover of Vogue: Korea. His--

Jonghyun looks around aimlessly for a second, and Minki suddenly feels like he might leave.

Minki can’t let him leave right now. Not yet.

What can he say?

Jonghyun softly touches the bridge of his nose.

 _What_ can he _say?_

 

“Your forehead is nice.”

 

 

Wait. Wait a minute. _That’s_ not what Minki had meant to say.

“..Huh?”

Jonghyun’s eyes widen like he’s been caught off guard, but he moves his hand upwards to touch his hair. “Thanks,” he says, “my bangs usually cover it… I guess it’s the wind?”

 _No shit_ it’s the wind.

Wait, Minki still has to cover for his unwarranted compliment. He’s never felt like he’s had to do damage control after praising how someone looks, but he racks his brain for an excuse to make it sound more casual anyway. If he sounds confident enough it should work, right?

“I’m studying fashion design,” he blurts out, “I’ve been exploring how hairstyles complement various facial structures. It’s quite interesting how different the same hairstyle can look on two people with differently sized foreheads.”

…Yikes. That’s the biggest load of bullshit he’s ever heard in his life.

Jonghyun pauses, but nods his head as if even a tiny bit of the explanation made sense.

Minki’ll take what he can get.

“Fashion design,” Jonghyun repeats, “That’s so cool. I’d wanted to do something creative like that—like game design or something.”

Okay, game design and fashion design are poles apart, but they’re both creative fields as much as they’re also technical. Minki can agree with that.

“What _are_ you studying, then?”

“Computer science at Yonsei University.”

Yonsei, huh. Not too far, but not too close either.

Jonghyun continues. “Where did you say you were studying?”

“Sungkyunkwan! It’s super good for fashion design and stuff,” Minki responds. _Oh_ , he wonders, _this is probably a good time to ask what his—_

“Wait. I didn’t ask you how old you are,” Jonghyun says, beating Minki to it. “I’ve been talking to you pretty casually; I’m going to be embarrassed if it turns out you’re a lot older than me,” he grins, but his tone is playful.

_…This guy._

Minki’s never been told he looks particularly old. More often than not, he’s been confused for being younger than he is. The alternative is that Minki has made a horrendous misassumption and Jonghyun is actually twelve years old and looks a lot _older_ than _he_ is. That would make this situation more than a Little awkward.

“Uh, my birthday’s 3rd November, 1995,” Minki replies, shaking his head slightly, trying to recover from his strange tangent.

“Oh,” Jonghyun says, raising his eyebrows just a bit, “we’re the same age, then. I guess I’m a little older. 8th June, same year.”

Huh. So same age it is. Minki can work with that.

\--Uh. Work with that to do what exactly?

Jonghyun doesn’t let him continue his train of thought this time either. “I actually moved here a couple months ago, right before the new academic year began. I was in the Yonsei branch in my hometown, Gangwon, but a bunch of us got transferred here.”

“You’re new here?” Minki says, and his heart does something funny because he knows exactly what he’s going to end up suggesting next.

“Yeah, guess I am,” Jonghyun responds, on cue.

“If you want, my roommate and I can show you around,” Minki says, and proceeds to fib without a second thought, “we were planning to go around the city one of these days anyway, since the holidays are on.”

A breeze blows past them again, and Jonghyun’s bangs blow back onto his forehead. It really _has_ been awfully windy these last few days. That’s fine. This is the kind of respite everyone needs during the summer.

“If it isn’t an inconvenience, I’d love to,” Jonghyun smiles, and Minki has to force himself to look anywhere else.

 

The summer heat is crazy. Out of the blue, Minki recalls bits and pieces from a biology class he’d begrudgingly paid attention to during high school. It’s common knowledge—you get dehydrated, and the amount of blood in your system gets lessened. Naturally, your heart starts beating faster to pump more blood to compromise. So it’s definitely dehydration that for a minute causes Minki’s heartrate to rise.

Yup.

Definitely dehydration.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tune in next time for a few more Slightly Awkward antics as these two desperately try to get to know each other lol


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been streaming dejavu non-stop, which isn't hard bc it's such a good song ahaha,,  
> This chapter's juuust a little longer than the previous two, but hopefully that's okay.  
> As usual, let me know if you find any typos!

 

Minhyun agrees easily enough.

 

“I mean, I don’t mind,” he says, placing the book he was reading on the table they’re sitting at, “but why can’t you just take this friend of yours out alone?”

“It’ll be better if he has two different perspectives on wherever we go,” comes Minki’s nonchalant reply; a rehearsed answer.

Minhyun won’t even _have_ to do any talking when it comes down to the places they’re going to go. The itinerary is going to be in Minki’s hand in the end, and he knows enough about the areas he likes, beyond doubt, to be able to answer any questions Jonghyun might have. Besides, Google always exists.

That being said, some moral support wouldn’t go _entirely_ unappreciated.

“Oookay then,” Minhyun raises his hands. He’s unconvinced, clearly, but his agreement is all Minki needs.

“I was thinking we could take him to Myeongdong, but he’s probably been there and it’s too expensive anyway,” Minki rests his head on his hands, “Hongdae has nice fashion too—it’s a lot less mainstream, a lot more indie. I like it. Or,” and it strikes him, “Dongdaemun. It’s a whole-ass experience and I bet he hasn’t seen much of it. There’s street shopping there too. I’ll ask him. It’s just a pity that Fashion Week is ages away.”

Minhyun has an eyebrow raised and is staring at him weird.

“What?”

“Ok, how about this,” he raises a finger on his right hand. “We go to _one_ shopping area only. I thought he wanted to see the city, not just shop?”

Minki pouts. Minhyun takes him too lightly sometimes. He’s got an actual reason for this.

“Obviously not,” he grumbles, “I was planning the same thing you said! I just think that he might have legitimately forgotten to bring summer clothes while moving here? This’ll give him a chance.”

What was the weather in Gangwon like, anyway? Was it cold all the time? Minki had never been. The weather couldn’t be _all_ that different from Seoul, right?

“I guess it’s fine if he really does need clothes,” Minhyun nods, suddenly empathetic. Then his eyes light up. “We could take him to Seoul Tower if he’s not gone there yet?”

“No. That’s like a date place.”

“Does it matter?”

Minki taps at the corner of the table.

“Nah but, it’s got an entry fee. I don’t wanna ask him to pay if we’re taking him, and buying two tickets really isn’t in my budget right now.”

“And shopping is?”

Minki shrugs. “Like I said, it’s not the only thing we’ll be doing.”

Upon retiring to his room, Minki unceremoniously falls onto his bed. He stares at the ceiling for a moment, turns on the fan that’s next to him, and sends a message to the number he’d saved a few days ago at the cat alley.

 

\----

 

The day they decide on ends up being just the right amount of cloudy for the heat to not press in on them too much. When Minhyun and Minki reach the subway station at five minutes to eleven in the morning, Jonghyun is right there waiting for them.

He isn’t wearing a hoodie today, but his blue long-sleeved flannel that shows a hint of a white tee underneath isn’t exactly apt for the weather either. It looks good, though. It suits him in the way singing in the shower too loudly suits Minhyun, and falling asleep on Minki’s couch suits Dongho.

“Why is he…” Minhyun whispers as they walk up to him, going through the same cycle of bewilderment that Minki had gone through upon seeing Jonghyun for the first time, “why is he wearing two layers in August?”

Minki calls out a greeting as Jonghyun sees them, leaving the question unanswered. Minhyun’s smart enough. He can figure it out himself. And maybe once he does, he’ll let Minki know too.

 

They catch up to where Jonghyun’s standing, greet each other, and Minki begins to lead them towards the right exit.

“Hwang Minhyun, Minki’s roommate,” Minhyun bows to Jonghyun while they walk, “I heard you wanted to get to know Seoul better! It’s a lovely city. I hope you don’t mind me tagging along!”

“Ah, I should be saying that to you,” Jonghyun replies, and Minki immediately looks behind himself to see, sure enough, confusion pinching Minhyun’s eyebrows. An array of potential explanations briefly flashes through Minki’s mind, but Jonghyun keeps talking and it proves as sufficient distraction.

“I’ve walked past this area once and it always seemed interesting, so when Minki,” he makes eye contact with Minki for a second, which Minki should Not be noticing, it should be Normal, “texted me asking if I wanted to take a better look at it I jumped. Do you come here often?”

“Not really, but Minki does and I come with him sometimes. I really like this one area,” Minki feels Minhyun’s eyes on his back, “but I’ve been told to keep it a secret since it’s part of our tour today.”

They walk into a narrow street filled with numerous food stalls.  
It’s a weekday, but the crowd never ceases to amaze Minki whenever he comes here. A lot of people don’t like crowds, but to him it’s an indelible part of life in Seoul, being able to see so many different people at the same place and the same time.  
Minki slows down so that he’s walking in line with the other two. The overlying hum of people talking is too loud to have a conversation, so he selects a stall next to where they can eat something in some peace.

They grab a set of cheese corn dogs.

Jonghyun tells them about how he has a roommate who is Korean but grew up abroad, who finds the powdered sugar and honey mustard a lot of street food stalls put on their corndogs absolutely blasphemous. Minhyun says he can’t relate, and Minki nods as he bites into gooey cheese underneath crisp deep-fried breadcrumbs.

 

To get to the first place that Minki wants to take them to, they pass by a bunch of street vendors selling clothes and the like. Counterfeit brands fill these stands, but for a bunch of college students affordable is frankly the best route to take.

Minki ushers Jonghyun and Minhyun to a rack of (comparatively) fashionable apparel.  
Minhyun is an otherwise good-looking guy, and even without Minki’s input he usually has a pretty impressive wardrobe. Every time Minki’s seen him shop, he ends up being too slow to decide what he wants. Picky might be the right word. But Minki can’t blame him. Even today he ends up buying nothing, and Minki feels just a little guilty.

Jonghyun, on the other hand, immediately picks out yet another long-sleeved shirt, with yet another cartoon animal-monster-thing, and Minki solemnly comes to term with the fact that maybe shopping for clothes is something that’s meant for him to do on his own.

Minhyun and Jonghyun loom over a stall selling socks, and Minki watches them bond over a common appreciation of the deformed Yoshi heads on a pair. Minki buys himself his own pair of rilakkuma socks in an effort to make this portion of today’s trip not a total failure.

It’s just the start of course, and Minki’s got a plan.

The next place he takes them is a grey coloured building, five stories tall. Lettering in a deeper grey decorates part of its side.

“Minhyun hasn’t been here either,” he tries telling Jonghyun as they enter. The hubbub of the street drowns his voice out, so once they’re inside Jonghyun leans his ear closer to Minki’s face. It isn’t the one with the tiny mole.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

Minki gulps.

“I was saying that Minhyun hasn’t been here before,” he says, and after looking at him in understanding, Jonghyun turns to face forwards again like it’s nothing.

Minki leads them up the many flights of stairs to the rooftop, and tells them about how a community of people who recycle abandoned urban spaces in the area occasionally hold their barbecue parties over there.

Minhyun lets out a _woahh_ when the view of the cityscape becomes visible to them and he whips out his phone to take pictures. Fascination paints Jonghyun’s expression too, and he slowly walks to the side of the roof to rest his arms on the parapet. Minki joins him.

“There’s a bunch of skyscrapers behind us taller than this building so it’s no penthouse view,” Minki comments, “but I love the feeling of being here anyway. It’s a great viewpoint for looking at both the ancient and modern styles of architecture in the city. ”

“It’s amazing,” Jonghyun admires. He looks younger, eyes wide, captivated, “You can even see hills from here.”

If only the day had been just slightly clearer, then the hills further in the distance would become visible too.

 

When Minki feels a hand on his shoulder he almost jumps, but it’s just Minhyun asking if they can all take a picture together.

He ends up placed in between the other two boys. Minhyun energetically places his left arm around Minki, and tries to maneuver his phone camera in a way that gets the most of the background with his other hand. Jonghyun leans in to fit into the screen, and Minhyun gestures for him to move even closer.

“Put your arm around him, Minki, he looks like he’s a passerby who’s trying to photobomb.”

Minki carefully drapes an arm around Jonghyun’s shoulder, and attempts to make a v-sign with his other hand.

While Minhyun is busy clicking pictures, Minki feels a soft pressure at the small of his back, and his t-shirt begins to feel too thin. He remains unmoving, his v-sign hand frozen in place, and wonders how likely the possibility is that Minhyun has grown an extra arm today. Because it’s either that or,

Or,

…Or it’s just a friendly gesture.

Even then, once Minhyun is satisfied with the number of pictures he’s clicked and moves away to go through them, Minki risks casting Jonghyun a glance. He finds Jonghyun also looking right at him for a split second, after which they both turn away, and,

He could swear that Jonghyun looked just the tiniest bit wistful, but he doesn’t know what that means.

 

Their next stop is a gigantic structure, stretching for almost as far as your eye can see if you’re standing in front of it. It lacks the sharp corners of the buildings around it, but its curving form, almost imposing in how huge it is in scale, commands attention just as much as it maintains a distinct sense of what is like its own identity.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Minki loves this place.

“This is the Dongdaemun Design Plaza,” he announces with a flourish of his hand, “the star of our tour this evening.”

He tells them about how Seoul was voted the design capital of the world back in 2011, and as a prize, they got to make some sort of an architectural structure that could reflect the design advancements of the city.

“You’ve probably seen it in photos, but here’s the real deal,” Minki smiles, and the wonderment with which Jonghyun stares at the squares of LED light on the walls as they light up with the setting of the sun, is worth bringing him here.

“Whenever Seoul Fashion Week takes place, you find a whole lot of people roaming around here, just showing off their street fashion. My classmates and I frequent the area a lot around that time. It’s a different kind of experience.”

Jonghyun nods, still looking around.

Minhyun kneels down to observe some of the tiles on the walkway that also light up-- blue instead of the off-white on the walls. He’d been enraptured by the different kinds of LED displays the last time they’d been here too, and though he’s been to where Minki’s about to take them next, he’s never actually been there _with_ Minki.

Minki recalls their conversation from when they were deciding where to go.

“Come on,” Minki says, and he intends to pat Jonghyun once on the shoulder but his hand lingers for maybe a second longer he plans, and it ends up feeling more like a caress than a tap, “There’s a place you need to see.”

Minki notices, about halfway through the walk there, that they’ve left Minhyun behind in the area with the blue tiles. It’s when he pauses in his step and Jonghyun almost bumps into him—he turns around and their eyes lock for maybe the fiftieth time today, but the first time that they hold their gaze instead of skirting around it— that Minki can tell the exact moment when Jonghyun realizes too.

…But Jonghyun remains intentionally silent.

Minki doesn’t want to think he’s reading into anything more than he should, but a rush of adrenaline hits him like a sack of bricks all the same.

He hasn’t received any phonecalls from Minhyun yet, so he can risk it, and there’s a big chance that he knows exactly where Minhyun will be eventually.

There’s definitely _one_ way to find out.

 

The field of LED roses is arguably also a place couples go to a lot, and using the logic Minki had used when dismissing Seoul Tower, there’s no reason he and Jonghyun should be there. Especially not alone.

Well, _alone_ is a strong word, considering the murmur from a number of couples around them that are taking a stroll in the area. Some just tarry at random, much like Jonghyun and himself.

Minki coughs.

Much like Jonghyun and himself, that is, if they were a couple.

Potentially giving the Jonghyun the wrong idea aside, Minki just genuinely wants to share the beauty of one of his favourite places in the city, has longed to show someone how enchanting this field of luminescent flowers can look against a backdrop of Seoul’s glittering skyscrapers.

_Someone…_

 

“This is… breathtaking,” Jonghyun exhales, and Minki can almost feel it with how close they’re standing to each other. There’s an inch of empty space between where their hands rest against their sides, and Minki blinks, trying to understand why he just _feels_ like he wants to scream.

He can’t decide what’s worse anymore—the fact that the meager distance between them feels as intense as if it wasn’t there, or what it might suggest if Minki decides to close it.

But in a sudden fit of boldness, closes it he does.

Minki brushes their knuckles together, and holds them there for a few seconds.

“Thanks for bringing me here,” Jonghyun leans in and whispers, the sincerity in his voice making Minki shiver.

“Thanks for giving me a chance to come here again,” he whispers back.

 

 

They find Minhyun at their last stop for the day, at Dongdaemun’s used book street. Stacks and stacks of book lie on the pavement—novels, magazines, encyclopedias, autobiographies, dictionaries—you name it. Some are in cartons, some tied together with string, and countless decorate the makeshift shelves of the various stores.

Minhyun is reading a collection of poems by Kim Hyesoon, and when Minki walks up to him he remembers to sulk.

“You guys disappeared without me,” he complains, and tries to thwack Minki with his book. The distressed shopkeeper warns Minhyun about pages falling out, to which Minhyun responds saying that he was planning to buy the book anyway.

“You could have called,” Minki says, as they walk up to Jonghyun a couple of stalls over.

“I …could have,” Minhyun repeats. There’s something in the lilt of his voice, but Minki figures he can just ask later.

The shelf that Jonghyun stands in front of is essentially a wall of manga stacked one on top of the other, and when Minhyun mentions to him that this street is his favourite part of Dongdaemun, Jonghyun seems to register it only barely.

“You… you couldn’t have brought me to a better place,” he traces a hand down the side of the shelf like it’s a long-lost lover. He heads over to the cashier to buy five entire volumes of a series with a cover that has a kid with a headband who looks way more enthusiastic than anyone needs to be for life.

 _So Jonghyun’s one of_ those _types_ , Minki thinks, pursing his lips, _the peculiar breed of human known as the_ anime fan _._

“He kind of looks like Naruto, don’t you think?” he asks Minki and Minhyun. Minki has a rough outline of who Naruto is at least, from trying out different shows with Dongho during their previous break, so he goes with a restrained … _sure._

Minhyun seems to remember the event as well, he goes ahead and mentions it directly. “My boyfriend tried to get me to watch that with him a few months ago when he was bored and searching for something to do. I passed. Minki dealt with the short end of the stick for me.”

Jonghyun laughs.

“You should have watched it, Minhyun,” Minki says, “God knows how many times Dongho—no, _both_ Dongho _and_ I have watched the Transformers movies for you.”

Minhyun lets out a cheeky grin, but he doesn’t defend himself.

 

“Hey, Jonghyun,” he calls out without warning as they’re leaving, walking up to Jonghyun’s side, “why don’t you join us for dinner at home.”

Minki tries not to let the waver show in his step.

“Are you sure?” Jonghyun asks, and Minki tries to quickly re-visualize their apartment in case he’s left anything embarrassing out in the open for an unsuspecting guest to see.

“Yeah! Minki said it’s on the way to your place anyway, right?”

Hold on. Minki had said no such thing. Jonghyun had mentioned the whereabouts of his apartment to them briefly during the walk to Dongdaemun Plaza. Minki knows Minhyun had been listening, because Minki had _also_ been listening pretty attentively. That’s where Minhyun knows where Jonghyun lives from, yes, but when had he ever heard anything from Minki?

And then it hits him.

He tries to swallow the lump of dread stuck in his throat.

Jonghyun’s going to go over to their place now, and no matter when he leaves, Minki’s going to want him to stay for a bit longer. Partly because he’ll want to spend a little more time with Jonghyun; Minki’s starting to accep— Not Hate the spark he didn’t want to feel when he let their fingers graze, but that’s a whole different ballgame from his _newly_ realised main reason—which is that he knows exactly what’s going to happen once Jonghyun leaves.

Minki glances at Minhyun, who smiles sweetly at him.

Too sweetly.

 

They reach their apartment in close to no time at all. The sun’s long since set outside, and after Minhyun unlocks their door and lets them in, Minki breathes a sigh of relief upon entering a sufficiently clean flat. He turns to mouth a _thank you_ to Minhyun despite his doubts from earlier, but the space behind him is empty. Minhyun’s already gone into the kitchen to fetch food and utensils.

“Make yourself at home,” Minki tells Jonghyun instead, who yet stands a little awkwardly at the entrance, but on hearing Minki’s words he takes off his shoes and leaves them near the door.

He pauses for a second to examine Minhyun’s collection of Optimus Prime masks on display on one of the walls, but eventually walks over to Minki without questioning it.

“This isn’t as cool as some of the places you can be in Seoul, but it’s where we live I suppose!” Minki tries not to second-guess himself while Jonghyun’s eyes roam over the room.

It’s a reasonably small apartment, but Minhyun and Minki had tried to do it up the best they could. The doors to the two bedrooms remain closed, and the door lying ajar to the other side of the living room lets in light from the kitchen. Minki can hear Minhyun hum from inside it, but he doesn’t recognize the tune.

“It’s cozy,” Jonghyun says, leaning gently against a small chest of drawers, his smile coy, “Ours is a lot messier.”

“That’s all Minhyun’s doing,” Minki admits, and they both hear a _Thank you!_ resound from within the kitchen.

Then there’s silence.

Ah, Minki should have probably thought of something to talk to Jonghyun about while they were on their way here. He leans onto the same chest of drawers too anyway.

Jonghyun looks like he’s fidgeting with the hem of his flannel shirt. The light from the lamp at the corner of the living room gives his silhouette a faint glow.

“Hey,” he says, faint enough for Minki to wonder if he’d even heard it at all, and he feels Jonghyun’s hand lightly touch his shoulder, the one that’s on Jonghyun’s side. It can’t possibly be Minhyun this time either, Minki tells himself wryly, but he doesn’t look to check. This task becomes distinctly harder once he feels Jonghyun’s hand move down to the small of his back in a gesture that Minki almost mistakes as Not an afterthought.

“Thanks for taking me around. It wasn’t too much of a nuisance, right?”

“Of course not,” Minki says, “I—”

And here the scene breaks, almost like it’s been rehearsed, when Minhyun comes in carrying three bowls of beef bulgogi and a pile of plates and glasses, announcing that the food is ready.

Jonghyun’s hand is missing from Minki’s back as mysteriously as it had appeared, and Minki also finds himself moving away to help Minhyun lay down the food.

Jonghyun tries to help, and Minki has to practically hold him by the shoulders and sit him down. Minki can be lazy at times when it comes to setting things up on his own, but Jonghyun is their guest today, so it’s the least he can do.

They eat in relative silence, save for when Jonghyun compliments the chef-- Minhyun laughs and says it’s from the convenience store behind their building, and that Jonghyun’s free to come over any time if he ever feels like eating mediocre bulgogi.

He doesn’t stay for much longer after they’re done with the food. They bid each other adieu in front of the doorway, and Minki watches his figure vanish behind the stairway.

 

When he comes back in Minhyun shuts the door for him, and then leans back against it, hands on his hips, expression smug.

“Choi Minki.”

Minki takes a step backwards, gauging the distance he might have to cover to make a mad dash back to his room.

“Choi ‘ _after this breakup I think I’ll take it easy from now on_ ’ Minki,”

He’d seen this coming.

“Choi ‘ _love probably isn’t for me’_ Minki.”

Minki winces. Another two steps.

“I never thought I’d see the day.”

“What are you talking about,” he finally tries, gauging if the situation can still be salvaged.

“Really? That’s the route you’re taking?” Minhyun replies, quizzical. He pauses, his eyebrows rising in sudden realization. “ _That’s_ why you didn’t want to go to Seoul tower. You didn’t want _him_ to think you were taking him out on a date.”

Minhyun’s eyes widen, his smile disappears for a second. It’s replaced with wonder, and Minki can nearly _hear_ the gears in his brain aligning.

“Oh my god. That’s why you took _me_ along _too_ , isn’t it?”

 

Minki stays silent, weighing out his options. He shouldn’t have to deal with this right now. But of course, Minhyun naturally cares little about Minki’s internal conflict regarding this current set of circumstances, and continues to badger him.

“You couldn’t take your eyes off of him for a second, did you notice that?”

What? Was that true? That can’t be true.  
The flashbacks in Minki’s mind betray what he’d like to believe though, and he remembers the dozens of times throughout the day that he’d peeked at Jonghyun to see if, by any chance, he’s looking back. Talked a little louder, laughed a little harder, just to see if it would catch Jonghyun’s attention.

“Maybe I’m just trying to not make him feel out of place?” he counters, “It’s only polite to look at someone when they’re talking?”

“‘When they’re talking,’ he says,” Minhyun scoffs to himself. “You lean into his touch.”

“I do not. Lean into his touch.”

“His hand was literally on your back for like five whole minutes just now. You loved it. Don’t think I didn’t see.”

“I—” Minki feels his cheeks heat up. “He was being friendly? Friends are friendly? Last time I checked that’s kinda what they’re for?”

“Oh yeah, and I agree with all that. But the Choi Minki _I_ know doesn’t lean into the touch of just any guy who’s trying to be friendly.” Minhyun sits on the couch, one leg triumphantly over the other, his entire posture screaming he’s got this debate totally in the bag. “Not fair, I’ve been trying to cuddle you for years and years now and I’m not allowed, but this new guy comes along and you let him have at you?”

“ _Have at m_ —Minhyun _please_ , we haven’t _cuddled,_ I barely even know him!”

All of a sudden, Minhyun’s face turns serious.

“But you want to cuddle him,” he says, and it’s a question just as much as it isn’t a question.

“Huh?” Minki says, because even though he’s heard Minhyun, his brain is honestly just too fried to try comprehending what he’s implying right now.

“Do you want to cuddle him?” Minhyun repeats, and he spaces out each word like he’s talking to an infant. It isn’t actually a question this time either, but he sounds like he wants an answer all the same.

Minki hesitates, and it isn’t for too long, but it’s enough. His best friend looks like the cat that ate the canary, and Minki knows it’s a losing battle.

He… doesn’t know exactly what he wants with Jonghyun, but…

Minki shuts his eyes briefly.

 

Looks like he’ll have to admit it after all.

“…He’s probably straight,” he says, and he hates how the defeat is audible in his tone.

That’s the thing. That’s _why_ Minki hadn’t wanted to admit it to Minhyun, that’s why he’d been trying not to admit it to him _self_. Minki’s done with the whole shebang of falling for straight guys, and it’s a rabbit hole he’s not willing to go down again.

“Now don’t take this the wrong way, Minki,” Minhyun starts, and the haughtiness has disappeared completely from his speech, “I’m saying this as both a gay caring for his fellow gay, and also as your friend. I don’t claim my gaydar’s the best in the world, but I’m certain even you’ve noticed that Jonghyun sure touches you a lot for a straight guy. In a non-creepy way, I mean.”

“Now you’re just trying to pick on me.”

Minhyun laughs. “Nah, I’m serious,” he says, “Take him out. Alone this time. Find out if he’s gay or bi or whatever? I mentioned that I have a boyfriend and he didn’t react badly, so he’s possibly not homophobic and that’s a start.”

Minki wonders if the skepticism shows on his face.

“I don’t know man,” Minhyun continues, sounding a lot more hopeful than Minki is, “he just gives me _vibes_ that he likes you too.”

Minki shakes his head and decides that it’s time for him to really retire to his room.

Minhyun doesn’t hound him further, and Minki feels grateful as heck that he can tell when Minki needs to be given some space.

“Goodnight,” he offers nonetheless, and Minki echoes out a response from within his room.

He climbs into bed and buries his face in his pillow.

 

It becomes worse once you tell your friends, he thinks to himself. Maybe _worse_ isn’t the right word, maybe the term he’s looking for is _more intense_. Since, when it’s only you who knows, you can always just convince yourself when you get over someone that you never really liked them anyway. On a deeper level, way inside, you know it’s not always true, but that’s just how defense mechanisms work.

But once your friends know, that’s when things change. Because even if _you_ can be fooled, there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to fool someone else.

 

(That’s the cathartic thing about it though, because it lets you finally be honest with yourself.)

 

\----

 

Minki dreams of lit-up roses, open laughter, and Jonghyun’s lips that night.

When he awakens he reaches for his phone before he opens his eyes, and types with more vigour than a half-asleep human should be able to.

_hey minki here again_

_theres another place i like that i didnt get to show u, how does this saturday sound?_

_minhyun might not come tho he said he has some errands to run_

_btw do u drink_

 

He checks the time before he hits send. 3:08am. His phone drops onto his side and he rolls back into his sleeping pose, desperate to catch some more rest before the sun rises.

When his phone beeps a message alert not even five minutes later, Minki ponders about which page of his new manga Jonghyun might be on, to be up even till now.

He smiles, despite himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank @goyangiprince for pointing me in the direction of Dongdaemun for being a place that Minki might like in Seoul! I've never been to Seoul myself, so there's surely some inconsistencies in there, but all the places I've mentioned in this chapter are places you can actually go to! 
> 
>  
> 
> Here's a picture of the LED roses so that you get an idea of what it's all about!
> 
>  
> 
> EDIT: i couldn't figure out how to get the embedded link to work so here's a direct link to the roses instead, in case anyone wants it rip
> 
> https://imgur.com/a/VuLkKZk 
> 
> Thanks once again to everyone who's bothering to read this thing!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to increase this fic from 6 chapters to 7, since I think it would work better with the timeline. Also, 7's always been lucky for me as a number ahaha;;  
> Thanks for all the support you guys!!

 

 

The person who Minki finds standing at the cat alley at 4:15pm on Wednesday, is not Kim Jonghyun. It’s simple to tell even from a distance really, if you take into account the fact that this one’s arms are actually visible.

There’s several other differences too, the most noticeable being that he stands as far away as he can possibly be from the cats while still being in the alley, with his back to the building wall. He frowns at them like they’ve personally paid a visit to wherever he lives just to pee on his bed or something.

There seem to only be weirdos frequenting this street nowadays.

Minki greets him with a nod of the head when they make eye contact, and sits down to go about his cat feeding routine. There’s more of them today than just the two kittens who were around the last time he’d visited, and as some appear from behind the random crates and trashcans in the alley, the stranger’s expression turns even more sour.

“Not good with cats?” Minki asks when curiosity gets the better of him.

“No. Not at all. They’re freaky as shit,” comes the frank reply.

“They’re okay,” Minki says, and it ends up sounding a little more defensive than he needs to be.

He turns to the cats again, but notices that the stranger keeps staring at him instead of the cats now. This goes on for a while before this other guy finally decides to break the silence.

“Hey, is your name Minki by any chance?”

Oh? That’s not what Minki had been expecting. He nods hesitantly.

“Ah!” the other boy’s entire disposition changes into something that’s a lot friendlier, “I was wondering if there was a chance I’d bump into you here, but I didn’t expect to! I’m Jonghyun’s friend-- he forced me into checking on these guys on my way back home."

Minki learns that his name is Aron (“Aaron, actually, but nobody here can pronounce it right,” he says), he’s not only Jonghyun’s friend but also his roommate, he has indeed moved to Seoul after having grown up in Los Angeles to pursue a degree in journalism, and that listening to Jonghyun watch anime on his speakers, day in, day out is a pain in the ass.

Alright, so maybe Aron only mentions that Jonghyun’s an anime fan and had been super excited about the manga that he’d bought with Minki and Minhyun, but Minki can hear it in the resignation in Aron’s sigh, as if he’s ended up having picked up almost as much Japanese as he has Korean.

He doesn’t stay for long, he says that he’s got _Things to Do, Places to Be,_ and Minki lets him be on his way.

“You’re taking Jonghyun out on Saturday, right?” he asks right before he leaves, and Minki nods, muttering an “I’m hoping,” to himself rather than Aron, but Aron looks satisfied anyway.

“Cool, see ya Minki,” he waves, and then he’s off.

Minki chews on his bottom lip.

Yeah, it probably _would_ be weird if he suddenly asked Aron if his roommate is gay.

 

\----

 

By the time Saturday rolls around, Minki has already completed several mental cycles of _Should I tell him? Should I not tell him? But I should tell him, right? Then again…_

_Tell him what?_

He finally decides that even if he doesn’t straight-up _tell_ Jonghyun that he’s interested in him, he can at least mention to him that he’s gay. After all, it’s something he’d want _anyone_ to know if he’s planning on becoming friends with them.

He could just casually slip it into the conversation at some point, Jonghyun _wouldn’t_ flip the table over in rage, and they could go on with whatever they were talking about just as casually as before.

It’ll all be fine.

 

“It’ll all be fine,” Dongho tells him, and that if Minhyun has a hunch Minki should trust it.

“It’ll all be fine,” Minhyun tells him, and that if Dongho actually agrees with something Minhyun is saying, there might actually be some truth in it.

 _It_ _all_ better _be fine_ , Minki tells himself while he waits at a table in one of his all-time favourite pubs, because he’s not going home tonight without telling Jonghyun _something_.

 

Jonghyun shows up right as Minki’s done finalizing his decision, and how unfairly good he looks in a simple black tee and denim jacket combo further strengthens Minki’s resolve. The sleeves on the jacket end right above his forearms, and Minki wonders if he’s been wearing long sleeves all this time just to build up to this moment. He quickly does a brief once-over of himself to check if his own scrupulously chosen outfit hasn’t magically changed.

Jonghyun spots him and makes his way to their table.

“I hope you didn’t have any issues finding this place,” Minki asks as Jonghyun sits down, and the reassuring smile that answers him as Jonghyun shakes his head is so bright it puts all the other lights in the pub to shame. Not that that would be very hard—the lighting around them, purple in color, is meant to be dim.

 

They order grilled chicken, and upon learning that Jonghyun _also_ prefers beer to soju, a bottle of beer each.

“You should come over again sometime if you like to drink,” Minki suggests, pouring himself a glass once everything arrives. “I’ve got a bottle of soju that’s been lying around somewhere at home for more than a month now. I don’t like it enough to finish on my own.”

“I don’t mind helping you out,” Jonghyun laughs, “but the one who drinks _properly_ is my roommate, not me. I heard you met him the other day,” he says so casually that it can’t _not_ be unpremeditated.

“I did! _Aar_ on, right?” Minki tries to roll the _r_ , to little success. “He was staring daggers at the cats.”

“He _would_ , he’s not a fan. I think he just hasn’t met a cat that doesn’t want to claw off his face yet. Once we find one, I’m sure he’ll fall in love with them too,” Jonghyun says, taking a bite of their chicken, and Minki can just about see his scrunched up eyebrows behind his bangs.

There’s a part of the pub where people are dancing. It isn’t very crowded, and it’s not nearly as loud as a bunch of nightclubs that he’s been to. Minki wants to ask Jonghyun to dance with him, because why the heck not, it’s what he’d do if it was anyone else, but he refrains.

“Minhyun can’t stomach any kind of alcohol,” he says instead, “The bottle at my place was technically his. He claimed he could drink his boyfriend issues away, and all _that_ attempt left was him with a bruised ego, and me with free booze.”

“I’m guessing his said boyfriend issues are all sorted out now?”

“Yeah,” Minki nods, “they are, actually. How’d you guess?”

“He sounded really affectionate last week when he was talking about him wanting to watch anime and stuff.”

Minki remembers that conversation vaguely, and he doesn’t remembering Minhyun being Particularly lovey-dovey. He’s actually _seen_ lovey-dovey Minhyun—he has to see him almost every day—so if Jonghyun could identify Minhyun’s genuine love for Dongho based off of only the fact that he knows that they argue every now and then, he’s either made an extremely educated guess, or he’s a little more attentive than he lets on.

“I remember when they first got together,” Minki tells him, this memory completely clear in his mind. “We’d already all been friends for a while, and it wasn’t something that I hadn’t been expecting. They thought they were being discreet and all, which, mind you, they’d _never_ be ever again in the future, but they used to wander off alone with the worst of excuses. A sudden need to do groceries, a sudden desire to turn the opposite direction to go see if one of them forgot the phone that’s clearly sticking out of Dongho’s pocket,”

A sudden desire to visit a bunch of stray cats four times more often than they used to.

Minki shakes his head, “They’re crazy, but they’re my favorite people in the world.”

 

Jonghyun looks like he wants to ask a question, but turns to finish his glass of beer instead.

What does Minki hope he’ll ask?

Minki finishes the contents of his own glass, and while pouring another, finds himself wondering if the answer to that question lies at the bottom of this one.

As the familiar buzz of alcohol washes over him, he lets himself laugh a little easier.

He and Jonghyun continue to eat, and fumble through getting to know each other with an eagerness that Minki tries to conceal, and can’t tell if he can truly catch in Jonghyun or not. Not in the way that he wants to.

Minki tells him about how he had long hair as a teenager, and that he’d get strange looks in the men’s washroom from people who couldn’t tell if he was a guy or not. Jonghyun pesters him until he reveals a photo from his phone gallery of him and Minhyun, from when they used to go to the same middle school in Busan. Jonghyun says they look adorable, and that Minki’s smile is still the same.

Minki insists that Jonghyun shows him a childhood picture too, but the only one Jonghyun ends up finding is one from when he was a baby. It’s an extremely cute picture, and it’s easy to tell that it’s him from a single glance. Minki lets him know as much.

“I hope I don’t look the exact same anymore,” Jonghyun laughs, albeit a little worriedly.

 

Turns out that Jonghyun’s interest in computer science stemmed from, at the root of it, his childhood love for computer games.

He used to spend a lot of his time on a site called Neopets, figuring out how to code html to give his pets their cool individual webpages. The flash games on the website are horribly outdated now, apparently, but a nine-year-old Jonghyun had found them cutting-edge during the early 2000s.

“Neopets. You used to play _Neopets_ ,” Minki laughs, pointing at him, “I can’t believe I’m eating dinner with a fucking furry.”

“I’m not a furry! Besides, you know what it is, so you must have had an account too,” Jonghyun accuses, letting his hand touch Minki’s from over the table, and once again, it’s nothing short of deliberate.

A small, nagging worry still pulls at Minki like an anchor, stopping him from going too far. He still has to find his opening. That’s what he’s called Jonghyun here for, after all.

 

He drinks his last sip of beer and watches Jonghyun finish eating. He notices something, when Jonghyun turns and the light falls on him a little better, and he has to stifle his laughter.

“What’s funny?”

“You’ve got something near your mouth,” Minki grins.

Jonghyun dabs a tissue practically everywhere around his face, except for where some ketchup remains right above his upper lip.

“Nope,” Minki teases him, pointing at his own mouth where the spot would be.

Jonghyun misses yet again, and Minki doesn’t know how he’s doing it. Then again, Minki’s own eye-to-hand coordination malfunctions sporadically, and Jonghyun really can’t see it, so maybe it is fair.

“You weren’t even close,” he laughs out, and Jonghyun crosses him arms in a huff.

Minki can _tell_ when a trace of mischievousness enters his voice. “I’ve got no clue where it is. Help me out?”

Minki wishes he could blame his skyrocketing heartbeat on the alcohol.

It’s like a scene out of those stupidly clichéd rom-com dvds that Minki hides in his room, the ones that he hates that he occasionally enjoys. The type where someone teaches someone how to play billiards by putting their arms around the other, where people kiss under the falling rain. This is nothing _that_ intense, naturally, but Choi Minki has never backed down from a challenge, and (looking past Jonghyun’s seemingly innocent smile and sparkling eyes,) this is nothing short of one.

He reaches over and brings a tissue up to right above Jonghyun’s lips, and gently wipes away the sauce. He pulls his hand back immediately, because he needs the moment to end so that they can stop _staring_ at each other. As soon as he sits back down properly, Jonghyun looks away, and a strange kind of tension falls on them as they finish their food.

“Let’s get out of here,” Minki finally says, feeling the slightest bit lightheaded. He gestures to one of the waiters to bring them their bill. “One of Dongho’s musician friends usually plays at this street. He’d be glad if we paid her a visit.”

 

\----

 

They walk through the streets of Hongdae, and it’s just about late enough for the crowds to start dying down. A few of the street performers still fill up the diminishing volume of the night crowd with their music. Minki follows his instincts rather than his actual memory tonight to lead Jonghyun to where Dongho’s friend—a guitarist from his university—comfortably sits on a stool and sings along to an acoustic rendition of TVXQ’s Love in the Ice.

Minki and Jonghyun trip on the corner of the sidewalk they walk onto almost simultaneously, but quickly steady each other with a hand on each other’s back. “Don’t fall,” Jonghyun chuckles, but his hand remains behind Minki just like it had a week ago.

Minki shakes his head, because of course he won’t fall, but today he notices that he does, as a matter of fact, lean back into Jonghyun's touch.

 

“She’s talented,” Jonghyun praises, as the lady reaches the chorus. He closes his eyes to listen to the music better. “When I was younger and …probably a lot more active,” he says, “I’d wanted to become a dancer.”

“No kidding,” Minki says, “Minhyun had wanted to become a singer. In the end, Dongho’s the only one who ended up pursuing a career in music. You should hear him sing too, honestly. Both of them,” Minki feels fond. “They’re better than they think they are.”

“I’ll have to ask them one day then,” Jonghyun responds, “I haven’t met Dongho yet, though.”

“You will,” Minki says, “he hangs around a lot at our place.”

The guitarist finishes up Love in the Ice and moves onto Why Did I Fall in Love with You.

“Coincidentally, these were songs that they’d bonded over when they were younger,” Minki smiles, “‘He’s the one, Minki! He’s the one,’ Minhyun would tell me…I’m glad things worked out for them.”

Jonghyun nods. He takes a breath.

“And you, I guess I haven’t asked, uh,” his arm drops from Minki’s back.

Minki freezes.

“…Are you seeing anyone?”

 

And there it is. It isn’t just an opening, it’s his perfect chance. All or nothing.

He hears his ears ring.

“Nah. I had a boyfriend during the first year that I’d moved here. Didn’t work out, though. I think we’d been dating just for the sake of dating.”

Jonghyun doesn’t react, but watches Minki carefully, inquisitive.

“It’s been good though,” Minki continues, and he hopes his voice doesn’t betray how terrified he feels. “This city’s not the _most_ liberal place in the world yet, but it’s not the worst. Globalisation and all that. I’ve found a lot of support here—through friends I’ve made, other people in the community that I’ve met…” he pauses, because while he’s thankful now it doesn’t stop him from thinking about the past, “…support that I don’t think I would have got back at home.”

 

(That night Minki lays a small yet important part of him bare, and Jonghyun does the same.)

 

“It’s better that I moved here then,” Jonghyun says, still watching Minki, and Minki realizes that the glint in Jonghyun’s eyes is one of nervousness, not wariness.

“...since I’m gay too.”

There is silence then, because Minki doesn’t reply for a bit.

It is indeed partly because he’s finally heard what he’d been yearning to hear for a month and a half, but that… isn’t really the reason.

Minki remains silent because he can suddenly _hear_ in Jonghyun’s voice a fear that mirrors his own, a fear that says that Jonghyun has also probably dealt with his fare share of homophobia-induced-bullshit the same way that Minki has.

It’s a silence of understanding.

The guitarist packs up for the night.

 

\----

 

Minki offers to walk Jonghyun back. He knows he doesn't have to, which Jonghyun also politely reminds him, but Minki says he likes walking anyway.  
  
It's been warm, even for a summer night, and the air lies heavy around them. Some other day, it might have felt suffocating. But for now, Minki would prefer burning alive rather than walking in any way that doesn't involve Jonghyun's arm around his waist, and his arm around Jonghyun's. It's for stability, he tells himself, though they're nowhere near drunk enough to be falling here and there.

Minki doesn't know which way Jonghyun's apartment is, so he doesn't know which way they're headed. Nevertheless, once they reach a residential neighborhood, with the comfortable darkness broken by the occasional streetlight and the lack of anything that feels human, or even worldly, Minki thinks that he probably wouldn't mind having to walk like this forever.

  
It feels unbearably hot in Jonghyun’s arms, but in the best way possible. His touch had always been distracting, as if the point where they connect burns, but right now he isn't burning. He's melting.  
  
Jonghyun is looking at the stars.  
  
"I bet you can see them clearer in Gangwon," Minki says, following his gaze upwards.  
  
"Eh," Jonghyun dismisses, "it's better when you're looking at it with someone,"  
Minki looks at him until he looks back. His smile is hopelessly tender, his eyes sparkle brighter than the stars.  
  
The street is quiet, a dog barking in the distance and their own footsteps the only sources of sound. Illumination stems from a streetlamp mostly obscured by the leaves of a tree, and the moon.  
Jonghyun's face is so close.  
  
Bells ring in Minki's ears.

 

 

  
_Kiss him._  
_Now's your chance._

 

 

  
Minki looks away, brings his free hand up to his mouth and pretends to cough.  
  
A wayward pair of teenagers, who look like they're a lot more drunk than Minki and Jonghyun are, suddenly appear from the other side of the street, and their shrieks of laughter reverberate off of the walls of the buildings surrounding them. They disappear as abruptly as they had shown up.  
  
When Minki glances back, Jonghyun is looking upwards again.  
"There," he points in the general direction of a bunch of stars, "there's a constellation right there. It's the only one I know how to identify. Do you see the five stars shaped like a ‘W’?"  
  
Minki follows the line of Jonghyun's index finger to the sky.  
There is indeed, a set of five stars that Minki's never noticed before, that seem to glow brighter for them tonight.  
  
"I see it."

"It's called Cassiopeia. My father and I had gone on a camping trip around this time back when I was younger. He showed me how to identify it."  
Minki nods in silence, eyes on the stars.  
  
"If you bisect the first half of the ‘W’,” Jonghyun draws a rough V in the sky with his finger, "the line that bisects it reaches Polaris. You might know that one."  
  
Minki follows his guidance and true enough, the pole star is right there.  
  
"That's impressive," Minki gapes, "the only constellation I can identify is Orion's belt, because it's literally just three stars in a line. It usually shows up in the winter."  
  
"I guess we'll have to do this again once it's winter," Jonghyun says, with a hint of pensiveness that Minki can't quite put a finger on, but it feels awfully familiar.  
  
"I think I like this constellation better though," Minki says, looking up one last time, and he feels Jonghyun's eyes on him more than he sees them.  
  
"Five stars sound less lonely than three."

  
They reach Jonghyun's building in what seems like both a flash and an eternity.

It's a three-storied building, a dull yet friendly blue in colour. It probably looks better in daylight. The lights are still on in practically every window Minki can see, in spite of it being well past midnight.

 _Must all be college students,_ he wonders fleetingly.  
  
“This is me I suppose,” Jonghyun says, finally taking his hand off where it had made itself comfortable on the small of Minki's back. It brushes down Minki's arm as Jonghyun moves forward to face him, and their fingers loosely interlock like they’ve been doing this for years, like Minki had longed for when they were at the garden with the lit up roses.  
  
"Thanks for everything," Jonghyun says, looking somewhere below Minki's face.  
  
Minki feels a rush of blood to his head. He takes a breath.  
  
"This is the best time I've had in months," Jonghyun continues. Their eyes meet.  
  
"Same goes for me," Minki says, and his voice comes out a lot quieter than he'd meant for it to. "I'm glad we became friends."  
  
"I…" Jonghyun trails off, and somehow, between trying not to breathe too loudly and being helplessly enchanted when Jonghyun impulsively wets his lips, Minki notices the fingers he's been holding onto tighten just a hair.  
  
When he leans forward, Jonghyun meets him halfway, lips resting against each other's gently, like they've been walking for years and they're both exhausted. When the kiss breaks, they don't move back, and Minki's eyes remain on Jonghyun's lips. He can feel Jonghyun breathing slowly, gently on his skin.  
  
Jonghyun finally takes a step backward, and the heel of his right foot touches the bottom stair of the staircase behind him.  
  
"I'll see you around?" He asks, his hand still holding Minki's, and his voice gentler than should be allowed.  
  
"Yeah. Please." Minki hardly hears himself reply, still feeling like he's stuck in a daze.  
  
He promises to text Jonghyun once he reaches home, to let him know that he's safe, and when he looks back at the staircase before turning the corner on the street, Jonghyun is still watching him.  
  
It's later than they’d intended, and Minhyun is probably going to be asleep by the time Minki gets back, if he isn’t already.

  
Minki looks up at the sky as he begins to walk back. Being someone who loves going on strolls alone so often, he always insists that _alone_ doesn't always equate to _lonely_. Yet for the first time, as he reaches a familiar street and spots a familiar set of apartments, he feels something almost completely unfamiliar and admits to himself that tonight might be an exception.  
  
Tonight, right now, walking back alone, Minki feels like the space next to him really shouldn't be empty-- but along with that he also feels like he's the happiest person in the whole world.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was easily one of my favourites to write for not only this fic, but for anything i've ever written in general. I managed to really get into the groove for especially the last bit and I hope the vibe that I wanted to give it comes across! 
> 
> I'm glad these two can finally stop Pining so much lol. Their story isn't near over yet though, so do stay tuned!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So proud to see Dejavu get its first win!! Nu'est is still promoting, so hopefully there'll be many more.
> 
> Please note that the rating has changed from this chapter onwards and proceed accordingly!

 

 

The next evening, while Dongho is over for dinner, Minki’s phone beeps with a message from Jonghyun.

“I…” Minki squints at the screen, “I can’t tell if I’m supposed to read this as a booty call or not.”

 _Hey_ , it says, _do you wanna come over to my place tomorrow at around 4ish? we can play games. i have a nintendo switch._

Minhyun joins Minki in staring at his phone. “You know Jonghyun better than I do, Minki,” he laughs, “but I’ve got this funny feeling he just really wants to play, like, Grand Theft Auto with you or something. In any case, he’s asking you out so at least now you can relax.”

 

After getting back home the previous night, Minki had fallen asleep as soon as he’d hit bed. He’d woken up roughly eight hours later, mentally replayed the events of the previous evening, only to realize that he’d kissed Jonghyun without having asked _him_ if _he_ was dating anyone already.

“What if he’s asking me over to gently ask me to back off? And then let me play on his Switch as a consolation prize?”

“He let you kiss him, right? I don’t know why you’re worried,” Dongho chimes in from next to them.

“That’s true,” Minki admits, “and he did kiss _back_ for the record. It wasn’t for very long and there was no tongue involved, but he _defin_ —”

Dongho’s face scrunches up. “Minki, we don’t need _that_ much detail.”

“No wait, we do though, or else how do we help? This is important,” Minhyun retorts, and then turns back to Minki. “Go on.”

Dongho’s eyebrows turn upwards along the lines of _I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t care for you so much_ and Minki smiles at him somewhat apologetically.

“So you know we kissed, but I thought about it later, and I would have totally, y’know, _done_ stuff with him if given the chance? But I guess I kinda just went with whatever felt right, and last night that’s what felt right.”

“Are you saying you wanted him to ask you inside,” Minhyun looks thrilled. “That’s so bold of you, Minki.”

Minki almost chokes on his own breath. “ _No_ ,” he yelps, and brings down his volume a notch when Dongho flinches, “I didn’t have, like, an _agenda_ or anything.”

“You just wanted to make out with him a little bit,” Dongho puts forward, and Minki nods ruefully in return.

“I’ve wanted to make out with him almost since I first laid eyes on him,” he reveals, “He’s ungodly hot in a slightly weird way, but,”

Minki remembers noticing the tension in the lines of Jonghyun’s shoulders gradually disappearing during the walk to his apartment, remembers the look on his face that Minki now doesn’t have to hide any affection for. How his seemingly careful nature also conceals a strange kind of courageousness, one that Minki hadn’t initially been expecting from him and now is enticed to know more about all the same.

“I think I’m starting to really… I really want to be with him.”

The honesty with which this sentiment comes out widens three pairs of eyes.

Minhyun turns to Dongho. “Can you imagine that a little more than a week back he was trying to deny that he even likes this guy?”

“That’s different,” Minki defends himself, “I didn’t want to hope?”

“But now you can,” Dongho tells him.

Now he can.

 

“Look, just remember to stay safe, okay? I’m sure he doesn’t have any _diseases_ or anything, but you’ll want to remain tidy after you guys are done so I’ll pack a few condoms into your wallet anyway.”

“ _Minhyun_ ,” Minki whines, but both he and Dongho are biting back their laughter. Some things never change.

“Consider it a gift from the two of us to the two of you,” Dongho says, tongue-in-cheek, and laughs when Minki swings at his shoulder.

 

\-----

 

The address on Minki’s phone leads him to the same building he’d walked to two nights prior, and it does look nicer in sunlight.

He climbs the stairs up to the second floor, and sees that the door that should be Jonghyun’s is open. He peeks in.

The inside of the flat is covered in several colorful posters of different bands and, from what it looks like, anime that Minki can’t recognize. It is a little messier than how Minhyun’s kept their own apartment, but the packets of…Cheetos? (Potato chips of some sort, Minki assumes) in addition to the laundry hanging on the clothesline just outside a window gives a kind of warm, homely feel.

Minki rings the doorbell to announce that he’s reached.

He’s greeted with Aron popping his head out from behind a door.

“Oh, you’re here,” he says, “Jonghyun just went downstairs to go buy something to eat. I didn’t want to share my Cheetos. He’ll be back any second now.”

Minki smiles, trying not to let any disappointment show. He was hoping that it would only be Jonghyun and him today.

Aron sits down on an armchair, and motions for Minki to join him. The shit-eating grin on his face immediately puts Minki on the defensive. “So,” he pipes up as soon as Minki sits on the chair next to him, “are you guys like, together now?”

Seems like this Aron moves directly to the point.

Minki narrows his eyes. “I guess,” he says, because he and Jonghyun haven’t exactly talked about what their kiss entailed. That, and the fact that Minki had had a minor breakdown earlier regarding whether Jonghyun is even actually single or not.

Aron looks like it’s enough of an answer for him. “Oh good,” he says, “Jonghyun was super tense all throughout yesterday because he was trying to figure out how to ask you out. I told him to stick to what he knows best. He hardly let me sleep, he spends the night in my room sometimes when he wants a distraction from whatever’s going on in his mind. ”

It takes Aron a second to notice Minki’s expression turn lifeless.

“Oh my god,” he laughs, shaking his hands vigorously, “I didn’t mean it like _that_. He’s like a little brother to me. He just wanted someone to push him to actually send you a message.” Aron pauses, a finger on his chin, “Wow, you’ve really got it as bad for him as he does for you.”

Minki makes a face at him, but he’s relieved.

Also … _little_ brother?

“Wait, you’re older than us?”

“Yeah,” comes the reply, “Jonghyun says you’re the same age as him, so I’m around two years older than you.”

Huh. For some reason, Minki hadn’t seen that coming.

“Also, don’t worry,” Aron consoles him, “I’m here for like half an hour tops, after which I’ll be gone. You can have him all to yourself after that.”

Minki frowns. He does want to get some alone-time with Jonghyun, so he doesn’t decline, but dang. Maybe he’s not as subtle as he was hoping to come across. There’s no need for Aron to help; it’s not like Minki can’t try to woo Jonghyun himself.

Aron’s wide eyes and cheerful smile do look earnest enough. Maybe Minki can afford to let this one go.

Almost straight away, they hear the clamour of hurried footsteps and the rustling of a plastic packet through the doorway. Jonghyun rushes into the apartment, catching hold of the shoe cabinet next to the door so that he doesn’t fall completely. With the speed he’d been going at, they’re lucky that the packet he’s holding hadn’t flown out of his hand and landed on Aron’s head.

“You’re,” he begins, and then remembers to catch his breath. “Early?”

Minki’s conflicted emotions about Aron’s deal will have to wait.

 

Jonghyun leaves the snacks on the living room floor for everyone to enjoy, turns on the tv and hooks his Switch up to it. Minki and Aron move to the food while Jonghyun explains the basic rules to the game he’s chosen today— MarioKart.

So they really are doing this. Playing games. Minki doesn’t mind. From what it looks like, it seems to be a car-racing game rather than the platforming games he knows the Mario franchise as being. He’s had his bouts at Need For Speed with his brother in the past, so this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

“I’ll go easy on you since it’s your first time.” Jonghyun’s tone remains calm as he hands Minki a controller, but playfulness pulls at the corners of his lips.

“Oh?” Minki raises a brow. Underestimating him is going to prove Jonghyun a mistake.

 

“Dibs on Lemmy,” Aron calls out in a single breath as soon as the character selection screen pops up.

“Aw, no fair! You got him last time too!”

“There’s like _six_ other Koopa Kids, Jonghyun, you can spare me this one.”

Jonghyun ends up choosing a small yellow dog, apparently named Isabelle.

“You’re not helping your furry situation here,” Minki nudges him while he picks Princess Peach.

Jonghyun nudges back, undeterred. “Try saying that after I’m done pummeling both of you into the ground.”

Minki throws both his eyebrows up. This competitive side of Jonghyun’s isn’t unappealing by any means, but with a flick of his hair and a stance radiating Purpose, Minki decides that he now doesn’t have any choice but to show everyone what he’s made of.

 

He loses three races in a row.

Aron, also having won exactly zero races, decides that this is a good time for him to leave.

“Have fun,” he says, pointing a finger gun at Minki as he shuts the door. Jonghyun’s eyes remain on the screen, but he wishes Aron goodbye with a quick wave.

 

“Let’s play something else now,” Minki pouts, fiddling with his controller, shifting _just_ a little closer to where Jonghyun’s sitting. They’ve kissed already, so there’s very little need for this beating around the bush, but Minki would be lying if he said he hated it.

Jonghyun remains quiet for a bit, and then admits that he used up a giant portion of his allowance to buy the Switch, and that he doesn’t actually have any more games yet.

Minki blinks.

Well, then.

 

They settle on one of the minigames where they have to collect and steal coins from each other inside an area. By the time they start, Minki’s close enough to Jonghyun to brush against him even if he moves slightly to his left.

Jonghyun leans against his side finally, once the game begins, and stays that way as he beats Minki yet again.

“This controller is kind of janky, I think,” Minki nods to himself, satisfied with his conclusion.

“We can always switch, you know?”

“It’s okay, I can take the fall _this_ time. It’d be rude to beat you inside your own home,” he pouts, and smiles when Jonghyun places his head on his shoulder.

“I’m deeply obliged.”

 

His head is back up, alert, during the next round, as soon as Minki knocks a few coins off of him with the help of a blue shell.

“You bumped my coins away?”

“Oh?” Minki feigns ignorance, “Was I not supposed to do that?”

Jonghyun looks at him, and pokes Minki’s arm with an elbow. “Dick.”

“Are you gonna do anything about it?”

They stare at each other for a few seconds, challenge in both their eyes, and it sparks something low in Minki’s gut.

“Pause the game,” he instructs, and Jonghyun complies, but doesn’t turn to look at the screen.

In an instant, Minki’s lips are on his, and his controller drops to the ground before he can actually place it there.

“You’re fine with this, right?” Minki remembers to ask belatedly, but the way Jonghyun kisses him back with equal enthusiasm, how his entire torso arches into Minki’s is enough of an answer.

His right hand reaches into Minki’s hair. “Yeah. Shit. Definitely. For ages,” he says between breaths, and Minki can’t help but laugh into his mouth.

“Eloquent,” he remarks, voice low, and he’s straddling Jonghyun and he doesn’t know how, but the top few buttons of his shirt are undone. He slips a hand underneath Jonghyun’s shirt too, for good measure, desperate to _feel_ after so long.

It’s a pleasant surprise when Jonghyun licks along his bottom lip, and he can’t help but whimper shakishly and try to press himself against Jonghyun even closer, as close as can be humanly possible.

 

They hear the door to the apartment crack open, and Aron’s head pops in only to see Minki on Jonghyun’s lap, their hands up each other’s shirts, faces heated, turning to look at him with about an equal amount of surprise.

“Sorry, uh,” he grabs something from on top of the shoe cabinet, “forgot my subway pass.”

He runs out so fast he practically leaves dust clouds behind him, but Minki still hears him shout, “Didn’t think you guys would be at it _that_ quick, geez,” before he’s gone.

 

Jonghyun leans into Minki’s shirt (or whatever’s left of it on his body) and his laughter is so cute Minki wants to grab his phone and record it.

“He’s not going to let that go,” Jonghyun reaches to stroke the side of Minki’s face.

“I’ve dealt with worse,” is all Minki says, and his lips are back on Jonghyuns, their pace this time a lot less frantic. He hears every hitch of Jonghyun’s breath, feels his every involuntary twitch.

He tries his best not to moan when Jonghyun tentatively moves downwards to graze his teeth against his collarbone. This has a debatable degree of success, and Jonghyun looks up at him, concerned. It makes Minki feels like laughing even more.

“You’ve got a tiny mole here too,” he sighs instead, gently resting his thumb on Jonghyun’s right eyelid.

Jonghyun flinches.

“What happened?” Minki asks as Jonghyun rubs his eye.

“You poked my eye,” Jonghyun laughs, a silly answer for a silly question, yet an answer spoken like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

(Like it’s the most obvious thing in the world that the two of them were meant to be like this.)

 

 

They spend the rest of the evening glued together, taking their time just kissing each other between a few random spontaneous MarioKart races, and Minki feels almost proud at how Jonghyun’s inhibitions disappear bit by bit along with each article of clothing that they gradually discard.

It’s also equally painful, because of how desperate he is to touch himself, because he knows he can finish off even from just looking at Jonghyun. At Jonghyun’s glazed-over eyes, at his parted lips, at the tremble in his fingers on Minki’s back, at how the tips of his ears turn red on instinctively pushing against Minki’s hand when it reaches down to touch him over his boxers.

“I’ve never done this with someone else before,” he admits, sounding a lot more vulnerable than Minki’s ever heard him, and Minki pauses his ministrations to lock their fingers together.

“We don’t have to do anything right now,” he says softly, brushing Jonghyun’s bangs away with a finger to see his expression better.

“That’s not what I meant,” Jonghyun shakes his head and leans to press his lips against Minki’s another time. “I just didn’t think my self-restraint would be this horrible,” and Minki realizes that it isn’t apprehension in his voice.

It’s _need_.

“I might pop a vein or something if I have to stay like this any longer,” he breathes out, “but listen, if you want to stop I’m ready t—”

And he doesn’t get to complete his sentence, because Minki slips a hand inside his boxers and all that he can do is tilt his head backwards and squeeze his eyes shut. It’s his turn to try and hold back his moans now.

“I’ll go easy on you,” Minki mimics, “since it’s your first time,” and Jonghyun’s airy, arousal-ridden laugh might be his favourite sound yet.

 

He revels in Jonghyun’s tiny gasps and shudders, and feels satisfied as much as he does turned on when Jonghyun’s muscles tense up when he comes all over Minki’s hands with a broken moan. He’s surprisingly fit for someone who doesn’t like showing skin, and watching his body react to pleasure is something Minki can definitely get used to.

It takes only a few minutes for Jonghyun to regain his energy. It’s fitting that Minki is impressed by this, because once Jonghyun’s fingers tug his boxers away and close around him with renewed determination, he feels any ounce of energy that _he_ might have had prior leave him completely. He melts into Jonghyun, incapable of feeling anything other than the warm lips on his shoulder and the hand that moves against him, clumsy, but dead-set on getting Minki to come.

He tears up a bit when his climax hits him, just because how good it feels practically punches the air completely out of his lungs. He registers the moan that he lets out after he hears Jonghyun echo it.

It takes comparatively longer for him to gather his bearings, embarrassingly enough, but when he finally opens his eyes Jonghyun takes the chance to collapse onto him, toppling them both over in a flurry of sleepy laughter. They’re sweaty and the unopened packets of snacks stare at them from the corner of the sofa that they’d subconsciously pushed them to, but Minki wishes that he could bask in Jonghyun’s afterglow for no more than a _few_ minutes longer.

There’s something so peaceful about it, in spite of feeling like he’s just run ten marathons.

Jonghyun props his head up on his elbows while he’s still lying on top of Minki.

“What?” Minki asks, his cheeks not quite hurting even though he’s grinning so wide.

“Nothing,” he smiles, “I was just thinking that your nose crinkles up when you smile sometimes. It’s really cute.” He leans down to bring their lips together again.

While Minki’s usually nowhere _near_ shy as a person, the affectionate drawl in Jonghyun’s voice catches him a little off-balance. It doesn’t take a genius to notice that Jonghyun’s the one who’s more reserved as a person, which is what flusters Minki just a dash when he’s praised by him with no trace of the uncertainty or shyness that he’s seen in him before.

Warmth floods through Minki. It’s strange, this is a boy he’s known for, what, just less than two months now?  Yet there’s something he has that just clicks into place, that makes him so easy to be with. It’s something that makes Minki want to become even closer to him. To be able to understand every nuance he leaves hanging, to be able to appreciate him to the fullest.

Perhaps, he thinks a little selfishly, in a way that nobody else does.

 

The two of them end up putting only their boxers back on afterwards, and in the middle of their last MarioKart race for the night, Minki leans into Jonghyun’s ear, slides his fingers down his thigh, whispers “Your waist is really cute,” into his ear, and proceeds to win.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The world will never have enough of Minki getting Jonghyun flustered tbh.  
> I'm trying something sliiightly different for the next chapter just to not let things get too boring, but it should be done soon.  
> This is the 934853457th time i'm saying this but thanks for reading and commenting you guys! Reading through the comments really makes my day :')


	6. Special Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what I meant when I said I'd be trying out something slightly different whoops

 

 

Kwak Aron has had a few qualms with moving to Seoul.

It’s the usual. His friends and family are still in Los Angeles, there’s barely anyone he knows over here, the language is different, the food is different, the clothes people wear are different, the _people_ are different, how they think, how they act, what they believe are _all_ different--

Everything is different, but thankfully, even with all of this going on, his roommate is not one of these problems.

 

Kim Jonghyun is a strange type, Aron thinks. They’re in similar situations, having left their previous lives behind to move to a new city. Yet, there’s no denying how even though Jonghyun is younger than him _and_ has been doing this for only about as long as he is, the sheer amount of meaningful advice he has to share is crazy.

It was scary back when they didn’t know each other too well. Jonghyun would notice things that Aron would subconsciously do—things that would occasionally result in …less than ideal situations, things that Aron himself wouldn’t have noticed otherwise—and whenever he’d say something about it, it would put Aron off kilter, because he’d end up thinking, _How come this guy who barely knows me can read me like this?_

He’d be able to tell whenever Aron was feeling low. He’d know when to ask about it and when not to. If he knew it was better not to, his concern would make its presence known somehow anyway.

Aron would see it in the new tube of toothpaste that had been silently placed on his cupboard right after he’d run out. The occasional decision to use earphones while playing games or watching stuff. The _I’m Here for you_ smile Aron would get instead of a goodbye when Jonghyun knew talking wouldn’t help.

Soon, Aron would realize that it isn’t himself who’s exceptionally readable, but instead it’s Jonghyun who’s exceptionally perceptive.

Kim Jonghyun is a smart person, someone who really cares for other people. The type who doesn’t impose with their thoughts. He’s observant, insightful, and in general just pretty damn good at knowing how to Think in life, and Aron would defend this sentiment till his last breath.

Maybe Jonghyun would be able to handle anything life throws at him.

This is what Aron thinks, until Jonghyun begins to fall in love with Choi Minki.

 

It starts innocently enough, when Jonghyun walks into the apartment one day, claiming that he might have met the most beautiful person he’s ever seen in his life. It’s quite a compliment, but it doesn’t set off too many alarms. Simply finding someone good-looking doesn’t necessarily mean anything further than just that.

The second time Jonghyun meets him, he returns saying that he’s apparently been offered to join this Minki and _his_ roommate while they go around some part of Seoul, and that Jonghyun’s managed to procure Minki’s phone number.

“That’s quick for a date,” Aron jokes, to which Jonghyun vehemently knits his eyebrows together.

“It’s not a date! His roommate is also going to be there.”

“Just ask him out alone somewhere else then,” Aron suggests, but Jonghyun’s adamant that it’s Absolutely Definitely For Sure Not a Date so there’s Really No Need.

 

When he comes back from this so-called tour, the turmoil on his face is practically palpable. This is when Aron registers that his roommate is developing, for lack of a better term, a crush.

“I don’t know if he’s into guys,” Jonghyun says, “I feel a connection but I don’t know what to do because I don’t know if he’s into guys.”

“Find out,” Aron replies, because that’s the simplest, most obvious path of action.

Sometime around 3am that night, he wakes up to a loud sound from the direction of Jonghyun’s room. He rushes there only to find the room’s extremely exhilarated occupant upside down on the floor, with his legs on the bed, two volumes of manga toppled over next to him. His phone is in his hand, his face is beaming.

“Look at what he sent me,” Jonghyun croons, holding his phone screen up, and it’s the closest Aron’s ever heard to him singing. “This is probably just as friends and everything, but he asked me out!”

If this Choi Minki is capable of making one of Aron’s closest friends this fucking _gleeful_ , Aron’s got to meet him as soon as possible. It’s decided.

 

A few days later, ( _Wednesday_ , Jonghyun says, _Every time I’ve met him in that alley it’s been on a Wednesday_ ) after camping out at the cat alley for a painful two hours, watching a few dozen people walk across him, one person finally sits down near the cats.

“Not good with cats?” this one asks, and Aron upon getting a better view of his (admittedly handsome) facial features, realizes that ah, this must be the guy.

 

\----

 

“I think you have a chance with him, Jonghyun,” Aron says when he’s back.

Jonghyun looks doubtful, but Aron pushes forth. “I asked him if he was taking you out this Saturday. He basically said yes. This might seem like an inconsequential detail, but I think that a straight guy would correct me saying ‘taking you out’ with something like ‘yeah we’ll be hanging out’ or along those lines. You know what I mean, right? I don’t think he realized it himself.”

Jonghyun still looks doubtful, claims that that isn’t enough to make a judgement out of, but Aron manages to eventually convince him to at least _ask_ if Minki is single or not, and then take it from there.

 

\----

 

That Saturday, Aron is semi-awake on his bed when Jonghyun comes back, but he isn’t prepared to have a full-grown man fall onto him to wrap him into a hug at who knows how long it’s been past midnight.

“I think I’m falling for him,” Jonghyuns says, and he sounds pained but he’s also smiling like crazy.

“What happened,” Aron asks, and his nose catches a faint whiff of alcohol. “How much did you drink?”

“Barely anything, I’m not even drunk,” Jonghyun says, still holding onto Aron for dear life, and Aron believes him, but he knows that it isn’t the end of what Jonghyun has to say. He waits.

Jonghyun takes a breath. “I asked him if he’s single, he is, he said he had a boyfriend before, I almost had a heart attack, I told him I’m gay, had another heart attack probably, and then…” he says all in one go, and Aron’s sleep-muddled brain struggles to keep up. “…We kissed. Just now. In front of the building.”

The worry in Aron’s tired body is abruptly replaced with an exhilaration that’s much, much less sleepy. “Just now? Like, _just now_?”

“Well, fifteen minutes ago would be more accurate since I kinda just stayed there at the entrance for a bit. I needed to, uh, process.”

Again, Aron knows he needs to wait.

Sure enough, Jonghyun continues, “I… wanted him to turn back. I didn’t want him to leave.”

Aron lets out a sigh and pats Jonghyun’s back.

“You should have asked him to stay, dummy.”

“…”

 

Aron lets Jonghyun stay in his room for the night, and listens to how the rest of the date went before he drifts off to sleep.

The next day he forces Jonghyun to send his soon-to-be boyfriend a message, (“I don’t know why I’m having to repeat to you something _you’ve_ told _me_ a billion times, but you’ve got to take the initiative to change things sometimes,” Aron says). He watches, four parts amused and one part concerned, Jonghyun staring at his phone so much engrossment that Aron half expects the screen to crack under the sheer weight of the hope that’s being willed onto it.

They get a reply from Minki within the hour, confirming that he’d love to come and to send him the address one more time.

 

The next day, Minki shows up while Jonghyun’s gone to buy them all food, and Aron leaves after they all play a few MarioKart rounds together. He realizes a few minutes into his journey that he’s left his subway pass behind, and by the time he’s done retrieving it, the sounds of both his roommate _and_ said roommate’s boyfriend moaning are very regretfully etched into his memory.

 

\----

 

“I’m glad I moved here,” Jonghyun says one day, out of the blue, and Aron nods not because he necessarily feels the same way about moving to Korea _yet_ , but because if Jonghyun wasn’t around he’d probably be doing a lot worse.

 

The holidays end and the next few weeks pass by in a whirlwind of university assignments and getting to know Minki better. Aron takes quite a liking to his vivacious personality and his penchant for fun. His reaction to being teased is a roll of his eyes and a quick retort, as opposed to Jonghyun’s usual-- a pained _Why are you Doing this to me_ expression _._ However, there are also things they have in common, Aron comes to learn. They share a similar kind of sensitivity. From Minki’s stories about his friends as well as from just observing how he is around Jonghyun, it’s easy to see that there’s a side of him that has a lot of love to give.

He tries to get Aron to teach him some English, and impressively enough already knows each and every lyric to Lady Gaga’s entire discography. Anything past that is a little iffy, as is his horrendous pronunciation, but he’s enthusiastic above all else, so he’ll get there someday. Maybe.

“If you guys ever decide to fuck here,” Aron tells him in English, “tell me beforehand so that I can make sure I _leave._ ”

“Fuck?” Minki repeats, though it sounds a lot more like _puck_ than _fuck_. “Like if we have sex?”

Aron doesn’t know whether he should laugh at how Minki actually knows the word _fuck_ , or at how Jonghyun has spontaneously combusted in embarrassment next to them.

 

In October, Aron is introduced to the two of Minki’s friends—Minhyun and Dongho, who have apparently been dating for ages now.

“I hope we don’t end up making you feel like a fifth wheel,” Minki tells him, “I’ve been third wheeling on their relationship for literally years now so I know what it’s like.”

 _Although I wouldn’t have had it any other way_ , he doesn’t add, but he doesn’t need to.

 

Aron tells them about the guy he used to date back in Los Angeles, and how while it was fun while it lasted, they didn’t know if they’d be able to make it work long distance.

“I didn’t think I’d end up meeting so many people here who aren’t straight,” he tells them, “the whole world is becoming more accepting of who we are I guess. Ourselves included.”

They all nod knowingly.

 

 

Just before November begins, Jonghyun comes to Aron to get some help in learning how to cook seaweed soup for Minki’s birthday.

“Minhyun and Dongho are planning on giving him a surprise. We’re included in the plan too, obviously,” he says, and then the two of them mull over what to get as gifts.

On the 3rd of November, Minki comes back from his university to his dark, seemingly empty apartment, and then ends up shouting for his life and knocking over an entire bookcase when four figures pop up from behind his sofa with a cake, four presents, and a bowl of soup.

The recording of this event on Aron’s phone is quickly circulated among everyone else’s.

 

As the year begins to come to a close and winter sets in, Aron finds himself accompanying Minhyun to movie screenings during the weekends. They pop by Dongho’s now and again to watch him work on music assignments, and hours pass by without any of them noticing while he composes something or the other.

Aron learns that Dongho likes the same kind of music he does, and with his help Aron doesn’t have to struggle to choose songs for his work mode playlists anymore.

He also tags along with a very ambitious Minki who is hell-bent on trying to get rid of his fear of cats, and ends up becoming a frequent visitor to the alley with the cats that he’d previously had the misfortune of going to only a single time.

Nothing comes to fruition at the start, but when a cat finally (reluctantly) sits down on Aron’s lap, he thinks that it’s less because the cat doesn’t hate him and more because the universe is rewarding Minki’s resilience.

“This is the same one that I managed to get to sit on Jonghyun for the first time too. Kind of, anyway,” Minki says, and then brings a hand up to his mouth to laugh with a sudden shyness that Aron never quite expects from him, even though the more he gets to know him the more often it pops up. He must have remembered something.

“What,” Aron asks, but Minki only shakes his head.

“Nothing, I’m just. Glad I met him. And you. And everyone. Moving here has been the best thing I could have done.”

Aron feels emotion well up inside of him, but he remains silent as they walk back to his apartment.

The sun sets in the November sky.

 

Aron knows that he’s had a few qualms with moving to Seoul, just like Minhyun and Dongho, just like Jonghyun and Minki. But just like all of them, he ends up getting lost in the warmth of having people there for him, and accepts that he’s glad he’s moved here too.

Because there’s no denying that Aron might be facing problems right now and he might face problems in the future, and yet, he knows that the friends he’s slowly but surely making in this city are definitely not part of these problems, and that’s more than enough to keep him going.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so!! This chapter didn't originally exist bc I hadn't really wanted to stray too far from the Minki's pov narrative that I was giving the story, but a total of three things happened:  
> a.) I didn't want the narrative to get too repetitive since jren have Mostly got their shit sorted out by now,  
> b.) there was a time gap between the previous chapter and the next one that I didn't really know how to fill, and  
> c.) someone left a comment on chapter 2 saying they were looking forward to seeing Aron in the fic and I realised I hadn't given him a role as big as I'd have liked.  
> I guess I could have made it a separate side story altogether, just in the same series, but it fit in with the themes of the fic well enough (and honestly just sounded like a lot of fun bc I wanted to talk about Jonghyun's side of the story without necessarily giving the pov to him) so this all just worked itself out somehow.
> 
> A big thanks to @dittozhan who very kindly sat through and helped me figure out what I should do for this chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long with this chapter!

 

 

December finds the five of them practically living out of the recording studio that Dongho’s been using these last few weeks or so.

It’s been for an album recording—something a few of his classmates have been doing as a graduation project. They’ve scheduled it such that most of it is done by this point, the only remaining track being the one that Dongho’s taken complete responsibility for.

Minki, Jonghyun and Aron sit outside the recording booth alongside Minhyun, who’s been given the duty of helping Dongho record.

It’s about a week and a half till Christmas, and despite Minhyun not being officially affiliated with the project, he’s possibly the one who’s most determined to finish everything before everybody’s holidays begin.

When all’s said and done, he _is_ the one who knows best about how much this song means to Dongho.

 

 _My father passed away a couple of years ago_ , Dongho had told Aron and Jonghyun when showing them a sheet of paper containing lyrics, _and this is my song for him_.

They’d paused, nodded, and waited for him to continue.

_Thanks for offering to hang out with me through it, you guys. It’s been a while, but this is something I’d wanted to do._

(Because no matter who, and no matter when, everyone faces loss sooner or later)

It hadn’t been easy for him, of course, but when he sings the final version of his song for everyone after a long few weeks of working on it, there isn’t a soul in the room who can’t see the emotion that he’s put into it.

“Your dad would be really proud,” Minhyun says. Dongho tears up just a little, though he quickly tries to hide it in Minhyun’s sleeve when Minhyun wraps his arms around him for a hug. “You’re amazing.”

Minki wipes away his own tears and shoots Dongho a smile and a nod—a silent reconfirmation of Minhyun’s statement.

“I guess that’s that, then,” Dongho sighs, “Now I just have to finish recording and send it over to my classmates.”

The room remains awfully quiet after that, with everyone still being a little blown away by Dongho’s song, but Minki is thankful when Aron breaks the silence.

“You’re something else, Kang Dongho,” he says, shaking his head, “Dinner’s on me today! Let’s celebrate!”

The atmosphere becomes a little lighter, and everyone packs up with just a bit of a spring in their step.

 

\----

 

Despite being very tired, and more than that, hungry, Minki and Jonghyun find themselves deciding to take a detour to visit their cat alley for a final time before the end of the year rolls around.

 

“Ah, a quickie, huh?” Aron winks, when Minki informs the others that they’ll regroup with them at the restaurant.

“I get it, people have needs, just remember not to use the public toilets. Very unhygienic,” after which he has to swiftly duck in order to avoid catching Jonghyun’s elbow on his nose.

“You _know_ that’s not what we’re going to go do!”

Minki covers his mouth to laugh, somehow enjoying having to listen to the same old teasing from someone other than Minhyun and Dongho, now with the added benefit of getting to see Jonghyun all worked up too.

Speaking of which,

“I’ll send you a video so that you can make sure we’re doing it right,” Minki calls back, and the burst of laughter that he gets out of Aron is nearly as priceless as the look on Jonghyun’s face.

“Told you this one’s a keeper!” Aron shouts to them as he leaves to catch up with Minhyun and Dongho, and then it’s just Minki and Jonghyun left.

 

They find themselves at their destination just as the sun is done setting.

Minki wonders belatedly if it’s too cold for any of the cats to be out, but sure enough, a few of them are still rummaging around near a trashcan.

There’s no food for them today, but they approach Minki and Jonghyun to receive pets and warmth anyway. There are only three of them, but they’re three that Minki can recognize. The mother cat from half a year ago is nowhere to be seen, but the other cats are all the kittens that had been there the first time he’d met Jonghyun.

“They’ve grown up quite a bit, haven’t they?” Minki smiles, as one headbutts past his legs as he tries to sit down.

The other two make a beeline for Jonghyun’s lap, and cause a ruckus struggling to climb onto him at the same time. Jonghyun refuses to pick either over the other, and tries to fit both of them into his lap by some means or the other. It’s as entertaining to watch for Minki as it is concerning, specifically when the cats dig their claws into his jacket, but Jonghyun quickly reassures him with a shake of the head and a half-suppressed laugh.

It seems that the five hundred layers he’s worn, (finally appropriate for the weather,) function as some sort of makeshift body armour. Who would have thought?

Minki allows the cat he’s petting to climb onto his lap as well, and it burrows into the warmth of his sweater, purring the entire time.

“We should name them,” Jonghyun suggests, all of a sudden. “We might not be able to keep them as pets or anything, but it would be nice having something to call them by, right?”

Minki frowns and nods. “You’re right. It’s high time,” he says, and stares intently into the cat’s face as he strokes its head, trying to find a detail or the other to get some name inspiration from. The cat keeps its eyes closed, blissfully unaware of Minki staring at it.

It has a few scars on its face.  They’ve healed, but the fur is wonky around those areas. It must get into fights a lot.

Minki’s mind flashes back to the high school nights he used to spend watching horror movies, and how even a mention of the Grudge franchise will now put another _level_ of fear into Minhyun and Dongho—not because they’re afraid of any of the _movies_ per se, but of Minki himself, who grabs onto whoever’s closest to him when he gets scared and _screams_.

“For this one, Chucky,” he offers, “After the doll from Child’s Play. Because of the scars it has.”

“Ooh, interesting pick,” Jonghyun nods, and the fact that he appears to be genuinely impressed by the choice of name makes Minki chuckle. However, he insists on naming the next cat himself.

 

“This one is,” Jonghyun scratches the cat underneath its chin, “Pocky.”

 _How can someone so_ silly _be this endearing_ , Minki thinks, but “You’re a fucking weeb,” comes out of his mouth instead, and he fights an urge to kiss Jonghyun in public.

“Shut up, it’s a cute name,” Jonghyun defends, though he doesn’t need to, “And it rhymes with Chucky. You can’t go against rhyming words. It’s practically fate.”

Minki laughs and falls onto Jonghyun’s side, scaring Chucky and Pocky away. “Fine. But I get to name this last one,” he says, running his hand down the back of the only cat that’s still sitting with them. “You can name the next cat whenever we see one.”

Jonghyun pouts, but he shrugs in defeat, and picks up the cat that’s on his lap. The cat, alarmed at being picked up, almost whacks its tail into Minki’s face, but eventually relaxes into Jonghyun’s hold and stares at them blankly. Her paws stick out at Jonghyun because of the way she’s being held.

“This is the only cat that would sit on me at first, right?” Jonghyun wonders, “She’s so much bigger now.”

“You remember that?”

Jonghyun’s smile turns lop-sided. “Of course.”

He places the cat back onto his lap, and she digs her claws into his jeans to stay put, not ready to be picked up again anytime soon.

“Old habits die hard, huh?” Minki smiles to himself. This cat had almost given him an aneurysm back in July. Minki’d been put into _quite_ the situation back then, but somehow today everything has all worked out. The cat, of course, still has no idea about how close Minki had been to spontaneously combusting.

…Now that he thinks about it, Jonghyun probably doesn’t know either, does he.

Nevertheless, all things considered, this cat coming to them that day must have been a stroke of good fortune, Jonghyun and Minki must have been what Aron would refer to in English as, uh, what’s the word again—

Ah.

 

Minki scratches her just underneath the ear. “I think I’ve got the perfect name for this one.”

Jonghyun also turns to look at him, eyes curious.

The cat nudges its head into Minki’s palm, and he grins.

“This one is …Lucky.”

 

\----

 

“You know, when we’d tried to get Lucky to sit on you the first time,” Minki tells Jonghyun once they’re inside the restaurant, “I’d totally freaked out when your leg was touching mine because I’d already started to find you cute.”

Jonghyun raises his eyebrows. “For real?”

Jonghyun’s sitting beside him on the table, with Aron on the other side. Aron, Minhyun and Dongho are engaging in a debate over whether it’s okay to fall asleep wearing earphones or not. A substantial portion of their food has already been devoured, partly by latecomers Minki and Jonghyun themselves. Having ordered a good twenty minutes or so after the other three, they’ve been waiting for their own food to arrive, packed for takeaway.

“Yup,” Minki gives Jonghyun his reply, “Honestly I wanted to ask you out immediately, but I thought you might be straight or something. So for a while I tried convincing myself that I just wanted to show you around town or some bullshit like that. Which was also there, but. You know.”

Jonghyun laughs— loud enough for the others to spare the two of them a glance, but clearly not momentous enough of a matter to overtake their ongoing analysis of overpriced Bluetooth earphones.

Minki presses onwards. “Could you ever tell? That I liked you?”

“I mean,” Jonghyun grins, “ _after_ we started dating I figured that there was a good chance you were into me for at least a little while before that point, but I had no idea it’d been from all the way back then! But to be fair,” he tilts his head just a tad, eyes affectionate, “I could probably say the same about how I felt about you.”

Minki swats at Jonghyun’s shoulder, trying to hide a smile. “That’s so embarrassing. How could you just say that?”

“You literally _just_ told me that you liked me enough to get nervous just because we were sitting next to each other, and I’m the embarrassing one?”

Minki, having decided that there’s no need to dignify this claim with a response, falls onto Jonghyun’s side with what he hopes is an Argumentative Thump and stays there, resting his head on his shoulder, taking in the scent of his body-armour jackets. They smell like nothing in particular, but there’s a hint of the underlying fragrance that belongs to anything that comes out of his closet.

“You had no clue I was gay either, did you,” Minki asks, a little quieter than before.

Jonghyun stays still for a second. He then turns his head to face Minki, eyes serious, but still warmer than anything in the restaurant.

“I try not to assume things like that until someone tells me directly. Which is why I’m so glad you did."

Minki pauses, wondering rather than worrying if a casual dinner is the right place to have this conversation. He glances around quickly. Dongho is finishing off the remnants of his dish, and Minhyun and Aron are saying something to each other about the feasibility of earphones disguised as shoelaces. There’s a possibility that they’ve read the situation and aren’t really listening.

Minki takes a breath and continues.

“…I almost didn’t, you know? I was scared that you’d read into everything and figure out I was into you. That you wouldn’t want to stay friends with me after that.”

From anyone else, Minki would expect an _Of course I’d want to!_ or a _Why would you think that?_

But Jonghyun has never been just anyone.

And it’s not like he’d never felt the same crippling fear of taking a leap that Minki had.

He holds Minki’s gaze. “…What made you change your mind?”

 

The answer comes to Minki faster than he can really comprehend it himself.

“I realized I was starting to fall in love with you, and a chance to be with you like this was worth risking the status quo of just remaining friends when I knew I wanted so much more, and probably always would.”

The hubbub of the restaurant suddenly feels less suffocating.

 

Jonghyun smiles. “You kissed me that day, and it was the closest I’d felt at the time to wanting to become a puddle. In the best way possible. I thought it’d been just me longing for you. And yet even with only that, I still wanted to do everything I possibly could just to find out if there was chance that we could be together.”

He softly kisses Minki on the forehead, disregarding the fact that they’re in a restaurant with more than just a few other customers, catching Minki completely off guard.

But Minki stays silent and lets Jonghyun finish what he has to say.

“I wouldn’t have anything be different about whatever we’ve gone through till this point. After all, the day you told me was the day I also let myself start falling in love with you. Though at this point I can safely say that I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself.”

“You’re dumb,” Minki says, burying his face onto Jonghyun’s shoulder. He can feel Jonghyun’s head lean onto his from above. “I obviously feel the same, but you already know that.”

“I’m glad,” Jonghyun sighs, the affection in it audible enough to make Minki’s heart swell.

 

It’s only then that he notices their takeaway package, having already been collected by someone and placed silently in front of them on the table.

They end up somewhat bashfully join into the last dregs of the ongoing conversation, presenting the fact that there are hoodie designs that substitute drawstrings for earphones, and Minki is grateful to have Minhyun, Dongho and Aron to immediately and simultaneously insist that that would look like utter dogshit.

They leave the restaurant soon afterwards, with Minhyun’s arm in its natural habitat around Minki’s shoulder and Aron’s arm joining it from the other side, and with Dongho and Jonghyun following closely behind them, chatting about how relieved they are because of how their winter breaks are starting soon.

Minki reaches home with a soon-to-be-full stomach, and an already full heart.

 

\----

 

It’s a good day in Seoul.

It’s the middle of winter, and the year is coming to a close, yet the sun is shining, birds are chirping.

Today, Minki doesn’t even _need_ to look outside his window to see people enjoying themselves.

He sees it in the chairs that Aron and Dongho had rearranged in the living room the previous day so that everyone gets a place to sit comfortably on New Year’s Eve; he hears it when Minhyun hums Dongho’s song while he and (after a lot of coaxing,) Minki are cleaning the apartment before everyone arrives.

He (could cry because of how cheesy it sounds and yet he’s) felt it in himself every time he spends time with his friends, or every time during the last week when Jonghyun’s forced him to play random bootleg videogames he’s procured, or every time during the last month that Jonghyun’s fallen asleep on his bed.

That being said, it’s obviously not like things that piss him off have disappeared completely or anything. That kind of thing— finding love and all your problems magically being solved— only happens in an idealistic world, in books, in movies, in Jonghyun’s stupid collection of trashy shoujo anime (that Minki’s come to love). It’s an appealing concept, but then again it’s also not really want Minki wants in his own life.

At the end of the day, everyone has their own issues to deal with.

Stuff ranging from the stress of not being able to afford the next Animal Crossing, to teaching yourself how in order to achieve what you really, truly want, you’ve got to be able to take a few risks.

Ranging from getting over a phobia of cats, to being ready to become accustomed to a lifestyle that you weren’t used to before, or even perhaps growing to love it.

Ranging from knowing when to push your opinion forward, to learning that small differences don’t matter when your views on and desires from life are the same as the person you might be arguing with.

Ranging from struggling to chase your dreams, to learning how to keep going forth even after losing someone who helped you dream in the first place.

Ranging from becoming able to understand that despite your best efforts, love and hard work may not always work out, to being able to take the plunge and wholeheartedly going after everything and everyone you love anyway.

 

It’s inconvenient, because sometimes things get really hard and you’re never really going to know what exactly to do, but like Jonghyun had also said back at the restaurant, Minki knows he wouldn’t want it to be any different.

 _Inconvenient, but fair_ , he might have said half a year ago, but all things considered, is it really an inconvenience if it’s all of these challenges that make people grow into who they are, into the people that Minki’s come to love?

Minki doesn’t have a concrete answer for that, but on New Year’s Eve the soju bottle that’s been in their house for what feels like decades is lying on the floor, emptied out completely by an enthusiastic Aron; he, along with Minhyun and Dongho have paused their karaoke session to do a countdown; the clock strikes midnight and Jonghyun quickly but quietly touches his lips to Minki’s, and Minki can’t start the new year off with anything but one specific thought.

He wouldn’t change having found the four of them for the world.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh;;; I would have posted this chapter a lot sooner, but a barrage of uni assignments got ahold of me this semester and refused to let go.  
> Our holidays started a little while back so I decided to finish this up as quickly as I could.  
> A huge, huge thank you to everyone who's stuck by through the fic! An even bigger thank you to everyone who's left comments and kudos! 
> 
> The new year may have rolled around in the fic, but i'm sure we'll be anticipating it irl even more. D-9 till ot5 :)  
> Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance to everyone! Take care!


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